Wrongfully Accused
by MochaButterfly
Summary: Ginny is accused of a crime she did not commit and is on her way to Azkaban when Draco saves her - D/G. **Completed**
1. The Crime

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling. If she knew how badly I have to get these stories out of my system then she probably would not sue me . . . I hope. The title came from a movie I have never seen before, but have heard of. 

A/N: I was watching TV one Wednesday afternoon and this idea just came to me. I'm not really sure where it's gonna go, but I need to get it out. Please review and tell me honestly if it stinks. 

Wrongfully Accused 

Chapter One The Crime 

With every breath Ginny Weasley took, she had to fight back tears. They threatened to spill over any moment, and she did not want them to. She had done enough crying in the past month to last her the rest of her life.

It was July. Ginny had turned eighteen two months earlier. So much had happened since then it was hard to believe there had been a time when she was happy and carefree.

At the moment, she was on a sort of Knight Bus. But it was very different from any Knight Bus she had ever been on because it didn't have any beds – instead, it had individual cells. Sort of like a dungeon. And each cell held one female, taking them to the place they would probably never make it out of alive or sane.

Ginny was going to Azkaban.

She sat in her cell, staring miserably out the window. It was dark out, but she could tell that the clouds they were flying through were gray. 

Resting her forehead against the surprisingly cool glass, she bit her quivering lower lip as a tear managed to escape down her cheek. Bitterly, she wiped it away and took a deep breath.

_Don't cry_, she commanded herself. _It won't do you any good. You've cried from the beginning and you're still on your way to jail._

There was a loud, sudden rattling noise that made her jump. She turned and looked out into the aisle of the bus, the narrow walkway between cells, and saw another girl in her own compartment, just a few years older than Ginny, holding the bars of the door and shaking them violently.

"I didn't do it!" the girl screeched, and Ginny tried not to groan. That same girl had been claiming that for the past three hours. "I swear, it wasn't me! Why don't you listen?"

Ginny smirked, and looked up towards the front of the bus. The only people that weren't convicts were the driver, a guard, and one Dementor. Why would they listen? The driver was old and frail and looked as if he hadn't eaten anything of real nutrition in ten years. The guard was a tall, thick man with biceps as big as Ginny's neck, holding some sort of weapon he could use to crash over someone's head to knock them out. And the Dementor . . . like it would really listen to anything anybody had to say?

No one that could help the girl was listening. Instead, another woman, around thirty who sat in a cell across from her, snapped, "Ain't nobody listenin' to you, bitch, so just shut up."

The girl tilted her head back and let out the loudest wail Ginny had ever heard in her life. It went on for a straight minute before the guard finally stood up and poked his weapon threateningly through the bars.

"If you don't shut your mouth I'm going to let this Dementor suck the life out of you right here and now," he growled.

Two months ago, Ginny would've pitied the poor girl who looked as if she had suddenly gone back thirteen years and was five, and someone had just told her there would be no more Christmases. But it wasn't two months ago, and Ginny had hardened. She had finally learned that the world was cruel and unfair. And she felt nothing but relief and almost gratitude for the guard who made the girl be silent, because she was getting rather annoying.

"How long until we get there?" another woman asked timidly.

"Two hours," the driver replied gruffly.

Two hours. Two more hours before she would be locked in Azkaban for the rest of her life.

Ginny was cold. She wore a black jumpsuit, courtesy of the "Cell Bus" as she'd come to call it, and a pair of cheap sneakers. But she had no socks and no bra, and wondered when the next time would come when she would be able to wear them again.

She turned back to the window and saw the person staring back at her. Two months ago, her skin had been as smooth as silk and pale, dotted with many tiny freckles. Now even her freckles seemed to have faded, and the flesh under her eyes remained a constant purplish-black. Her hair had once been healthy, wavy, and bouncy, a deep red color, and probably her best trait. Now it hung limply around her shoulders, even though Ginny had just washed it that morning. Her eyes, which had normally been full of life and happiness, a rich, dark chocolate shade, were now full of worry and anger.

Sighing, she closed her eyelids. It seemed every time she closed her eyes, the crime flashed back before her. She had nightmares about it, and had gotten so she was terrified to sleep.

At the moment, everything came flooding back to her, as if it had just happened moments ago . . . 

** **

**Two months ago**

_"Ginny! I can't believe you're even looking at those. Honestly, we can't afford new robes for you right now. Why don't you get a job and pay for them yourself?"_

Ginny sighed and turned towards her mother, letting the dark blue silk fabric of the latest style robes slip from her fingers. "A girl can dream, can't she?"

_Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes. "C'mon, we're supposed to meet Ron, Harry, and Hermione for lunch in fifteen minutes. We'll be late."_

_Ginny's crush on Harry had ended the year he left Hogwarts, which was the previous year. Instead of looking forward to seeing only Harry, she was looking forward to seeing Hermione and her brother, too. Hermione, of course, had landed a stable job about a minute after she graduated. She was now the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall having retired the year Hermione had left. Ron, however, was still looking for a consistent job and was working in George and Fred's joke shop for a little while, paying for a place of his own. And Harry, of course, was an Auror._

_Lunch had been fun. Ginny had laughed a lot, mostly at how Hermione and Ron still bickered with each other when Hermione had the engagement ring on her finger from him. The wedding was planned for December, on Christmas day._

_Afterwards, the five of them decided to shop around for a little while. Ginny followed her brother and his fiancé and best friend around for a little while, then grew bored of how even though they were nearly adults, they still ignored her. So she went off to find her mother and perhaps manage to talk a few Galleons out of her to buy the robes she wanted._

_But she couldn't find her, and when she passed by Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions she couldn't help but go back inside and look at the dark blue silk robes once more._

_Biggest mistake of her life._

_The shop was very busy. "Be with you in a minute, dear," Madam Malkin said in an exasperated voice, as she tried the sizes for an upcoming first-year who wanted to get an early start on his school year, even though the previous one had just barely ended._

_Ginny nodded absently and admired the robes she wanted for nearly ten minutes. Then she decided to look for something else, perhaps something she could afford, and moved towards the back of the shop where the sale racks were._

_That's when she heard it._

_"What are you doing?" someone cried loudly._

_Ginny wondered where it was coming from. She paused from searching the rack. It seemed to be coming from _behind_ the clothes, from the shelf where she was looking. Glancing around, she saw that no one was around. Whoever had spoken seemed panicked, as if something bad was about to happen._

_Ginny pushed the robes aside and peeked through. To her surprise, there was a whole other room behind the rack of clothes. She had never known about it, because it was invisible when the robes were in the way._

_And then the screams started._

_The horrible screams that seemed to echo throughout the whole store. Without even thinking Ginny scrambled through the robes into the hidden room, and saw someone on the floor, shouting wildly and twitching as if they were being tortured by the Cruciatus Curse. And that was exactly what was happening._

_The instant Ginny saw it, the screaming went on for a few more moments. Then the person stopped moving, and she was able to see that it was Lucius Malfoy._

_Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she jerked her head to the right. A figure, wearing all black, turned and disappeared through a hallway in the back. Whoever it was had been torturing Lucius._

_That's when everyone in the shop came in._

_Several people hurried to Lucius's side, and helped him sit up. He was sweating and breathing hard, his eyes glaring angrily at everything that he looked at._

_"The Cruciatus Curse," Lucius sputtered out._

_"Who did this to you?" one man asked, helping him to his feet._

And then Lucius looked directly and Ginny, and pointed an accusing finger at her. "She did it," he said softly and venomously. "That girl did it."

Of course, everyone believed Lucius. No matter how badly Ginny protested, no one believed her. But finally, her father insisted they use a truth potion on her. A very strong dose was made, one that no one could lie through, and she drank it.

"Did you use the Cruciatus Curse on Lucius Malfoy?" Cornelius Fudge asked her.

And she had answered, "Yes."

After that, even her mother wouldn't look at her without shame and pain in her eyes. But Ginny _hadn't_ done it. Why the truth potion had made her say the biggest lie in her life she never knew, and had a feeling she never would.

"If you didn't, then who did?" people asked her. Witnesses had seen her there before anyone else had arrived.

"A man in black," Ginny had tried to explain. "I saw him leaving before anyone else came."

Lucius said that was a lie. He said he watched as she pulled her wand out on him and said the deadly words. 

It took nearly two months for everything to happen, but finally, Cornelius Fudge looked Ginny straight in the eye, disappointment showing visibly, and said, "You will serve a life term in Azkaban for the use of an Unforgivable Curse on another person."

_I didn't do it_, Ginny thought now, very bitterly. _As much as I hate Lucius Malfoy, I did not use an Unforgivable Curse on him. I would never do that to anyone, never. _

Someone had set her up. She hadn't even been there when Lucius had started screaming. 

_I was in the wrong place at the wrong time_.

A/N: Please review and tell me if you like it or not! I LOVE reviews, please, please, please write something in the box below!!! Thanx :)


	2. Escape

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all the characters.

A/N: Here's where the action starts ;)

Chapter Two 

Escape 

Draco Malfoy was flying on his broomstick behind the bus Ginny was on. The clouds were very thick, so he had to stay right behind it or lose sight of it.

He was not enjoying himself. His father had asked him – no, _ordered_ him to follow the bus to Azkaban and see there was no problems. Why there would be problems he did not know.

He knew the Weasley girl was innocent. Lucius had all but told him so. The person who had tortured him had been Voldemort, and Lucius did not want anyone to know. For some reason.

_Everyone knows that Voldemort's back in power_, Draco thought, his lips twisting into a sneer. _Why he had to go and blame Weasley I don't know._

He also didn't know how she managed to lie through the truth potion. Of course, she had been forced to answer. It wasn't like she had _wanted_ to say yes. The truth potions made you say the truth, even if you don't want to. It sorts of forces it out of someone.

But Ginny hadn't used the Cruciatus Curse. She had denied it even after the truth potion had made her admit it. The only thing that Draco could conclude was that his father had done something with the truth potion.

_What use is it to think about it?_ he wondered. _It seems all I've done is think about it and I don't even like Ginny Weasley._

He should've stayed home. He hadn't wanted to come, and even though they were having a hot, sticky July, he was cold. Several kilometers above the ground, in the lower regions of the clouds, it was chilly. Even Draco's thick wool cloak was not keeping him from getting the goose bumps.

Below him, he could not see the ground through the thickness of the clouds, but he knew that they were flying over water. Azkaban was on an island (more like a collection of large boulders that had been conjured up by magic) in the middle of the North Sea. It was nearly two hours off the coast of England.

Draco sighed, frustrated. When it was all over he would just have to turn around and come straight back. And then he'd have to navigate on his own.

_Should've made Father follow this bloody bus himself_, Draco thought, irritated.

He released his grip on the broom, holding on and keeping his balance with his legs, and rubbed his face wearily. It was around three thirty in the morning, and he was exhausted. He knew he wouldn't be able to get sleep until sometime that afternoon, which seemed like forever at the moment.

When he removed his hands from his eyes, he realized with a jolt that he was alone in the darkness of the clouds, and that the light from the bus had disappeared. 

"Damn," Draco swore, reaching into his robes and pulling out his wand. "_Lumos_," he whispered, and the tip lit up. The light was strong, but the clouds were too dense to really see anything in.

Draco increased speed, never changing direction. He knew the way to Azkaban, it wouldn't be like he was lost without the bus or anything. But it would defeat the entire purpose of following it and keeping an eye on it. He might as well just turn around and go home.

Unfortunately, Draco made a mistake. Instead of staying behind the bus, he had increased speed so much that he was now in front of it. He turned around, preparing to go home and face the wrath of his father, when all the sudden the bus appeared through the clouds.

It was headed straight toward him.

Ginny was nearly half asleep when the bus suddenly jerked to the side. 

She looked up towards the front and out the windshield, and for a moment thought she saw a person right in front of the bus. A person with slivery hair.

But then the driver turned the wheel even further, and the person disappeared from sight. 

Ginny's stomach dropped as the nose of the bus plunged downward. The driver was shouting in attempt to get it straight again, but it continued to drop. It started to shudder violently, causing Ginny to lose her balance and fall to the floor. 

"We're going to crash!" some girl shrieked.

_Oh God_, Ginny thought, grabbing the bars and trying to get to her feet despite the shaking of the entire bus. _We are. We really are._

She turned her head to look out the window. Instead of clouds, she saw the vast expanse of water. They were no longer up in the air, but seconds from colliding into the sea.

And then, with a very vicious and sudden jolt, the bus stopped going forward and hit the surface of the water. With a scream, Ginny was thrown forward against the bars. She got lucky – her head did not hit any of the bars directly, but rather fell between them. All around her, the yells and shouts of the other girls filled her ears, and dazed she tried to stand up again.

The bus had hit the water nose first, and the rear had been up in the air. A moment later, it righted itself as the back fell into the water.

Cold seawater swirled at Ginny's ankles as she managed to stand erect. Looking around, she saw water flooding from both the front and the back. All the other prisoners were screaming their brains out, grabbing the bars and shaking them as if they would budge. Up front, the driver had opened the doors and was swimming out. The guard was not far behind them.

Ginny watched this, her mouth open, fear and panic causing her heart to pound in slow, loud throbs. They were leaving them! Leaving them to drown! The Dementor, meanwhile, did not make an attempt to leave and just sat in it's seat, as if waiting for death.

As if it was ever alive anyway.

Water was now up to her waist. Icy water, too cold for the hot, humid July they'd been having.

_I've got to get out of here!_ Ginny thought, once again looking at what the other girls were trying to do. Some were trying to break down the cell doors. Others were kicking and punching at the windows. The rest were just standing there in terror, either too afraid to move or knowing they wouldn't succeed in escaping.

_I'm going to die_, Ginny thought, horror slowly seeping through her body. _I really am going to die. I won't ever be able to get my name cleared. I will die with everyone, including my parents, thinking that I had used an Unforgivable Curse on another person._

But she had to try. If she were going to die, she would die fighting for her life.

There was no way she could get the cell doors to open. So frantically she made her way towards the window, the water, which was nearly up to her chest, holding her back as if it didn't want her to get out alive.

She began pounding on the window as hard as she could. The glass was thick, not the type that would shatter easily. She needed her wand, but the guard who had left them had it. When they got to Azkaban, it was to be snapped in half before her eyes. Soon she wouldn't have a wand.

_Or a life_.

Tears of terror began to make way down her cheeks, and they felt as cold as the water swirling around her neck. The window was almost completely submerged, and it was hard to get momentum to hit it underwater. 

"Please!" she shrieked shrilly, not really sure who she was talking to. Moving back a little, she let the water hold her up as she kicked at the window. This only caused her to move backwards, back towards the bars, and probably didn't do her any real good.

The surface was nearly past her chin now.

She was numb, both from the cold and from fear. The actualization that she was minutes from death hit her, and she had to fight to keep from sobbing.

_I don't want to die_, she thought, kicking at the window again. _I want to be able to live so I can convince everyone I'm innocent. I want to grow up and marry Harry Potter. I want to have ten kids and watch them grow up. I want to _live.

The water was up to her nose.

Salty tears mixed in with salty seawater, and she took desperate breaths to keep alive as long as possible. Other prisoners were still screaming, but she knew they would be silenced in a matter of moments.

She kicked the window again as the surface crept up to her eyes.

As she shifted positions so she could use her fists on the glass, the water moved up past her forehead.

_Even if I do make it out_, she thought, _the bus has sunk into the water. We've got to be quite a distance from the surface now. I'll never make it up there._

Her lungs burned. She needed air. But when she went up to tilt her head back and breathe the last of the little air at the ceiling, she found that there wasn't any. The bus was completely flooded.

Ginny let out a cry, and bubbles clouded her vision for a moment. Then she blinked, the salt stinging her eyes, and found the window. She gave one final, hard kick before she decided on giving up.

And to her shock, the window shattered.

Ginny did not hesitate. She cupped her hands and kicked her feet and swam, squirming out of the window. She felt a shard of glass cut through the side of her jumpsuit, but it barely nicked her skin. 

She kept on swimming.

Once out of the bus, she got confused. Which way was up? She drifted for a moment, totally dazed.

Then she let out another burst of bubbles, and found the direction they floated. _That way is up_, she said, her eyes traveling after the bubbles. Then, with every ounce of strength she possessed, she kicked towards the surface.

Draco hovered in the air, watching as the bus sunk. He couldn't do anything. It was too late. Everyone on board was going to die.

_It wasn't my fault_, Draco thought stubbornly, the screams from inside causing him to feel a bit guilty. _That stupid driver should've been able to pull up after he avoided hitting me. _

The driver and another person came out of the bus first, and then started swimming off. Draco did not help them. _They're just leaving everyone there_, he thought, but that wasn't the reason he wasn't going to help them. He didn't want anyone to know that he was the one who had caused to bus to crash. 

_Everyone there is a prisoner_, he told himself. _They're going to jail – dying is the best thing for them. They'll probably die in a few months anyway._

Yet there was one person on there who was not guilty of any crime. And that was Ginny Weasley.

For some reason, Draco stayed there even after the bus sunk from sight. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but he didn't leave yet. After a few moments, the two dark figures of the driver and the guard disappeared into the darkness. _They won't be able to swim all the way to shore_, he thought. _They'll eventually get tired and drown._

For about two minutes, Draco stayed. Just as he was about to turn and fly back home, someone popped up from below the surface with a great gasp of air.

It was Ginny. He knew instantly from that shock of deep red hair.

Even though he was a bit above her, he could hear her coughing and wheezing as she tried to catch her breath. 

_She managed to get out_, Draco mused. _The only one._

He felt something close to admiration for the girl.

She treaded water for a little while, and he could hear her sniffing as she cried. He knew she realized that she couldn't make it back to shore.

_She did all that just to end up dying anyway_, he thought. 

Then another voice inside his head told him to help her. _She's innocent. She doesn't deserve to die like everyone else._

Besides, he was the one who had caused the crash in the first place. He should've been paying attention.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered, and swooped down.

Ginny felt something grab the back collar of her jumpsuit and screamed. At first, she thought that a giant bird had snatched her up. When she was hauled onto a broomstick, she felt very stupid for thinking such a thing.

Dripping wet, she flailed as she tried to get a good grip on the broom. When she was situated, she sat for a moment, trying to calm her pounding heart. She wasn't going to die. Someone had saved her.

_Maybe the driver and guard did come back after all_, she thought, and turned to thank her savior.

Her smile of thanks slowly dropped off her mouth when she saw who it was.

"_Malfoy_?" she cried.

He smirked. "Who'd you expect? Potter?"

"But – but . . ." Ginny sputtered, wiping her dripping hair off her face. "You _saved_ me."

Draco's smirk turned into a scowl. "Yes, so I noticed. You should be thanking me at this moment, you know. If I hadn't been here, in five minutes you'd be fish food."

"Thanks," Ginny whispered. "I really thought I was going to die."

Draco looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well, I'm not letting you drive my broom, so you better get behind me," he ordered.

Ginny nodded, and with the help of Draco she managed to climb on the back of the broomstick. When his hand accidentally brushed her side, she cried out before she could stop herself.

"What?" he demanded.

Ginny glanced down at the slice in the side of her jumpsuit from the glass of the window. It was bleeding freely – she hadn't thought it'd cut so deep. Draco saw her wound and frowned.

"I'm not good at healing," he snapped. 

"If I had my wand I could do it myself," she replied tartly.

"Isn't it snapped in half?"

"No, they don't do that until you get to Azkaban," Ginny said.

"So where is it?"

"The guard had it."

"Then I can get it back for you," Draco told her slowly, as if reluctant to help her out. He reached for his own wand and then cried, "_Accio_ Ginny's wand."

They hovered in the air for so long Ginny began to realize that it wasn't going to come. As she opened her mouth to tell Draco, "let's go" something shot out of the darkness into Draco's waiting hand.

Her wand.

He handed it to her wordlessly, smirking triumphantly. Ginny felt a little annoyed at his attitude, but grateful, and took her wand and quickly fixed her side. 

"Well," she sighed heavily, "at least I get it for another couple of hours."

"What do you mean, another couple of hours?" he asked. Even in the darkness she could tell what a silvery gray color his eyes were, and it gave her goose bumps to see him staring at her so intently. She had always thought of Draco Malfoy as attractive, though would never admit it to anyone. 

"When I get to Azkaban they'll just snap it in half –"

"Who says we're going to Azkaban?"

Now it was Ginny's turn to stare intently. For a moment she was speechless. "You mean . . . you're not taking me there?"

"Look, Weasley, you're a lot of things, but you aren't evil," Draco said, sounding slightly irritated he had to explain himself. "I know you didn't use an Unforgivable Curse on my father, and that's the only reason I saved you. I'll take you back to shore and I won't tell anyone that you're alive. Because not only will you be hunted for, my father will personally see to it that I'm killed."

Ginny knew it was to be taken as an exaggeration, his last sentence, but for some reason she felt it was true. She stared wordlessly into Draco's eyes, wondering how she could've ever thought he was heartless and cold when he was acting so different now. 

Without another sound, Draco turned and changed directions, heading for the mainland.


	3. Fugitives

Disclaimer: All belongs to JK Rowling

A/N: I must confess I'm having fun with this one. Even _I'm interested in seeing where it goes hee hee. By the way, the title of this chapter was inspired by StrangerWithMyFace's review (I guess it is kind of like "The Fugitive", never really thought about it like that). So here's chapter three!_

Chapter Three Fugitives 

_ _

Ginny didn't put her arms around Draco's waist – rather, she sat far back enough so she could hold the broom and not touch him. She was high on excitement from escaping the bus alive, and managed to stay awake for the first half hour back to shore. But then her eyelids started to get droopy, and she had trouble holding her head up. Eventually, she gave up and said, "I'm about to fall off back here I'm so tired. Can I lean on you?"

And to her surprise, the answer came sharp and clear. "No."

She blinked, not expecting such a snappish reply. 

"I've more than enough for you already, Weasley," Draco told her. "I don't want you drooling all over me."

And for a minute there she was thinking he wasn't half bad! She huffed to show her annoyance, and forced herself to stay awake.

Draco was tired himself, and fortunately knew of a wizard hotel on the coast where they were near. So as soon as they reached land, he headed in that direction. 

_I'll pay for Weasley's room for her to sleep tonight, he thought, __but that's it. I'm done after that._

Ten minutes later, he landed in front of the hotel. The moment his feet touched the ground, something fell into his back. Turning his head in surprise, he saw that Ginny had fallen asleep and slumped forward against him.

She began to roll off, and he grabbed her roughly, hoping to wake her up. But she was dead to the world, and didn't even move an eyelid when he held her in an erect position by her shoulders.

"Wake up," he hissed, glad that it was the middle of the night and no one was around. He shook her, and her head rolled from one side, almost lifelessly. 

Sighing, he got off the broom, still keeping hold of Ginny to keep her from falling to the ground. Then, he lifted her into his arms, like an overgrown baby. She was a lot heavier than he had expected – though she had lost weight in the pass months, she still had a gorgeous, curvy figure. 

_God, this is embarrassing, Draco thought as he walked in to the lobby of the hotel. For the millionth time in his life he was relieved he didn't blush._

Fortunately for him, the lobby was empty except for a middle-aged man behind the counter. He looked half-asleep but instantly brightened when he spotted them.

"Mr. Malfoy!" he cried with forced joyfulness. "How are you this evening, sir?"

Draco squinted his eyes, trying to remember the man. Never seen him before in his life. But he must've recognized the pale blond hair and silvery eyes of the Malfoys. "It's morning," he said stiffly, his arms growing tired from Ginny's weight.

The man behind the counter, whose nametag read "Hamilton" was eyeing Ginny suspiciously, but hadn't gotten the courage to say anything yet. "Would you be needing a room for the remainder of the – er – morning, sir?"

"Yes," Draco snapped, annoyed. What did Hamilton _think he was doing here if not coming for a room? "Two rooms."_

The man pushed a large book in front of him, holding out a quill. "Just sign here, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco stared at Hamilton. How could he write with a person in his arms?

Hamilton's cheeks flushed and he sputtered, "Oh, of course, Mr. Malfoy . . . I'll just – er, uh – sign this here for you . . . it's not a problem, er, not at all . . ."

After he signed Draco's name for him, he reached under the counter and produced two old-fashioned keys. "Rooms are right next to – uh, er – each other, sir."

Draco hefted Ginny up onto the counter and dropped her heavily. Hamilton jumped, but Ginny didn't make a sound. "Put the keys on her stomach for me, will you?"

With a trembling hand, Hamilton placed the keys where he was instructed. Then Draco gathered Ginny back in his arms and flashed a smirk at him. 

"Is – is she dead, sir?" 

"She wasn't when I checked last."

"Isn't she – er, um – that Weasley girl who used an Unforgivable Curse on your father, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Weasley? No, no, she's just some prostitute who I found in the gutter outside and I decided to revive her and have a little fun," Draco replied smoothly. As he turned away he nearly laughed out loud at the stricken look of horror on Hamilton's face. 

But once he found the rooms, he was far from merry. He figure to find some way to get the right key off Ginny's stomach and put it in the keyhole, turn it, and open the door, all with her out cold in his arms. After nearly five minutes of balancing and nearly dropping her head first on the ground, he finally just placed her on her back on the floor. For the first time, she moaned and rolled over onto her side.

He stared at down at her and frowned. He wanted to be angry with her – she had caused him extreme embarrassment and pain in carrying her all around the stupid hotel. But as he stared down at her he was enchanted – she was _beautiful. Several strands of wavy, deep red hair had fallen over her face. Her skin was pale, paler then he remembered, but it gave her an enchanting quality, almost like an angel's skin would. She had long, dark lashes that, when her eyes were opened, framed wide dark brown eyes. She was breathing softly and evenly, one hand near her face, in a position that had Draco's blood rushing a bit quicker than normal. _

Then he was angry again, but this time it was at himself. _She's a Weasley, he thought, kicking open the door of the room that would be hers. __A poor, pathetic Weasley who is now a fugitive._

He reached down and grabbed her wrists, dragging her into the room. If anyone had been out in the hallway that late at night, they probably would've thought he was dragging a dead body. Even _he felt like he was dragging something lifeless. _

In the room, he quickly lit the candles with a wave of his wand and hauled Ginny onto the bed. Relieved that he was finally finished and could go to bed himself, he turned and started to walk out when a little thing caught his eye. Her shoes were still on.

_So? She can sleep in her shoes, he thought._

He stood in the doorway like a dope for a minute, contemplating whether or not to take off her shoes. _It doesn't matter! a voice screamed in his head. __Just leave her in her damn shoes!_

But at the last minute, he returned to the bed and yanked her shoes off violently, as if trying to make up for the kindness of what he was doing. Then he hurried out of the room before he actually tucked her under the blankets.

Back in his room, he felt like an idiot. He couldn't believe he had done what he had! It was what her mother would do, not a sworn enemy. How stupid was he?

He fell into a deep sleep, and ironically forgot to take his own shoes off.

Draco woke up the next morning to bright sunlight streaming in through the window across his face. Yet it wasn't he light that had woken him up.

It was someone pounding on his door very, very hard. So hard the hinges rattled.

"Open up!" someone yelled. "This is the Ministry!"

What did the Ministry want with Draco? He sat up just as the door adjoining his and Ginny's room opened and Ginny came in, her eyes wider than usual.

"They know I'm here," she whispered, swallowing the lump of fear in her throat.

"You're an accomplice of the Weasley girl!" the man repeated from outside the door, confirming Ginny's statement. "Come out _now!"_

"Oh shit," Draco said. "They're after _me, too!"_

Hamilton must've called the Ministry after recognizing Ginny. He probably told them that Draco tried to cover up her identity, so obviously people now believe he is helping her.

And he was.

"What are we going to do?" Ginny cried. "They'll open the door any second – I know they will!"

Draco thought fast. There was one window, but they were on the second floor. They would have to jump out. He ran over to the window and cried, "_Alohomora!" The glass popped open and Draco quickly looked out. __Good, he thought, noticing that they were in the rear of the hotel and could probably manage to run to the woods in time to escape. _

"You have until the count of three," the shouting continued. "One . . ."

"Weasley, jump out," Draco hissed.

"What?" Ginny did not move.

"I said jump out. Don't you want to be able to clear your name?"

She nodded slowly.

"You can't do that from jail. So jump!"

"Two . . ."

Ginny ran over to the window and looked out. "It's high," she said, her voice trembling.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine, then I'll just go. Have fun living the rest of your life in Azkaban."

And he lifted himself onto the window ledge, lowering himself down. He held onto the ledge and dangled, counted to three very, very quickly, and dropped to the ground.

Above him, he heard the final shout. "Three!"

When he looked up, he saw Ginny scrambling out. She jumped just as the noise indicated the door had burst open. When she landed beside him, he turned and began to sprint in the direction of the woods.

Ginny was not far behind him.

She ran as fast as she could. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the people looking out the window and pointing at them. They were going to come after them!

They made it to the safety of the forest, but did not slow down. It was harder to run in the woods because she had to dodge low branches, fallen logs, and rocks. Leaves slapped her face, twigs scraping her arms, but she still ran.

Behind her, she could hear the voices at the edge of the woods. They were going to catch them eventually, why was she even trying? 

_Because I want to clear my name, she thought. __Malfoy's right – I can't do that sitting in a cell for the rest of my life._

Ginny glanced back, hoping she wouldn't be able to see her pursuers. But she wasn't watching where she was going and her toe struck a large rock, tripping her. She fell flat on her face in the leaves, pain shooting up her shin that crashed into the rock.

Looking up, she saw she had lost sight of Draco.

"Damn," she whispered. The voices were very close now – they would see her if she jumped up and started to run. She would have to hide.

Staying low, she crawled and searched frantically for a hiding spot. And then she found it – a large, hollow log. She would be able to fit in it. Going as fast as she could, she squeezed in it as far in as she could go. 

She felt claustrophobic, and hated to think of what could be crawling on her. But she held her breath and waited as the voices came closer and closer. Finally, they were accompanied by footsteps, running past her log. 

"They can't be far –!"

"Won't be able to run forever –!"

"We'll get them and throw their sorry asses into Azkaban –!"

Until finally they diminished completely, leaving her in a rotting, damp log and covered in insects.

It took Draco a little while to realize that Ginny was no longer behind him. He was beginning to tire, and glanced back to see her not running anymore. Where was she? Did she give herself up?

_Maybe they won't run after me anymore, then, he thought, slowing down to a stop._

But the voices of his attackers changed his mind. Yep, they were still after him.

He couldn't run forever. Eventually he'd have to stop and then they would get him.

_I need to hide._

He searched for a good hiding spot. There was nothing, nothing, they were gaining on him, he would be put into Azkaban for assisting a criminal . . .

And then he found it. The perfect climbing tree.

It was tall, and thick with green leaves. If he got high enough it would hide him from the ground. And he could stop in the middle, too, so they couldn't see him from the air either.

He grabbed the first branch and pulled himself up. When he was younger he used to climb trees a lot, so he was pretty good at it. _At least I'm not one of those wusses who are afraid of heights, he thought, smirking as he ascended higher and higher._

Finally, he found the perfect branch that would hold his weight and keep him from behind seen. He sat on it and then remained perfectly still so the shaking of the leaves wouldn't hide the yells and footsteps of those who were after him.

They both stayed hidden most of the day. Occasionally they'd hear distant shouts, but finally, at dusk, Draco heard the footsteps back by his tree. He caught bits of their sentences, and it basically stated that they would search again tomorrow, but by broomstick.

When Ginny finally wiggled out of the log, her arms and legs were asleep. She had to rest on the ground so the blood would flow back into her body. The woods were safe now – she had heard the people returning as well. They obviously hadn't gotten Draco, so he must be somewhere.

Ginny wandered through the woods, the fading sunlight slitting through the leaves of the trees. The crunching of her feet on the ground was so loud it took her a moment to realize that someone else was walking with her.

And then a hand grabbed her shoulder. She screamed – very loudly. Draco quickly covered her mouth with his other hand, eyes blazing. 

"Are you _trying to get us caught?" he demanded harshly, taking his hand away._

She stared indignantly at him. "I'm sorry," she snapped. "I'm just a little jumpy considered I'm probably one of the most wanted criminals at the moment."

He held her gaze. "Yeah, you and me both. We're fugitives now."

Then he stepped by her and began walking deeper into the woods. She watched his retreating back for a moment and thought, _We're fugitives – but we're fugitives together._

She shivered, and she wasn't sure why. Then she hurried to catch up with him. 


	4. Tempers

Disclaimer: It's all JK Rowling's. I'm just borrowing the characters and idea for my own amusement. Plot is mine, though, in case you're wondering ;)

A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed. Even though I said this in my other fic, I would just like everyone who was a victim of the terrorist incidents Tuesday, September 11th to know that they are in my prayers!!! 

Chapter Four 

_Tempers_

"How big _are _these woods?" Ginny whined.

Draco sneered but didn't look over his shoulder at her. "Stop complaining, Weasley," he said, pushing a large branch aside that was in his way. When he released it it snapped back into Ginny's face, causing her to screech and jump back.

She stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "You did that on purpose!" she accused angrily.

"C'mon, Weasley, what do you think I am, three years old?" he asked, turning and walking backwards so he could see her. "If I wanted to hurt you I would've done it in a more sophisticated way."

Ginny resumed walking, her arms crossed. It was dark, but Draco was holding his wand up so the light would shine over everything they needed to see. "If you don't turn around," she said coldly, "you'll trip and fall."

He smirked at her. "Draco Malfoy does not fall –"

The back of his heel hit an upraised root and caused him to loose balance. Just when he was about to fall directly on his bottom he reached out and grabbed a small tree and managed to keep standing. Ginny burst out into laughter.

"He only stumbles," she managed to choke out.

Draco glowered and faced forward, angry and embarrassed. She was laughing at him! What right did _she_, a poor little Weasley, to laugh at _him_?

It took nearly a minute for Ginny to stop laughing. When she did, she said in a voice that clearly gave away she was still smiling broadly, "Malfoy, you need to lighten up a little."

"Oh yeah, of course I'll lighten up," he said, shoving his way through thick bushes. "I'm stuck in the woods with _you_, and I'm wanted by the Ministry. All because I was an idiot and decided to help out the less fortunate. If I had left you to die in that ocean I would be at home right now, fed and cool and much happier."

_That_ was sure to wipe the smile off her face.

"God, Malfoy, you're such an ass," she snapped irritably. "No one forced you to run. You could've stayed and told the Ministry the truth – or maybe a lie, that you were going to turn me in eventually!"

He stopped walking and spun around to face her. She had had her head down, watching where she was stepping, and nearly ran into him. "That sounds like a great idea," he hissed, his voice low but full of anger. "First of all, if I was going to turn you in, why did I pay for your own room for you to sleep comfortably in? And second of all, if my father found out I helped a _Weasley_ I would be permanently disowned – and that's the _best_ thing that my father could do to me. Don't ask me _what_ I was thinking when I pulled you from that water. One less Weasley in this world sounds great to me."

Her eyes widened in anger, and she looked like she wanted to do nothing more than slap him across the face. Instead, she just clenched her fists and then narrowed her eyes, the fury nearly radiating from her. "How _horrible_ are you?" she whispered, and then shoved past him and took the lead in walking.

And all he could feel was a deep regret for making her so angry. 

Ginny was hungry, tired, and sweaty. She had never wanted food so badly in her life – the last time she ate was over twenty-four hours ago. She'd had a sandwich for lunch before she got on the bus for Azkaban. That was it.

They finally came to the edge of the woods – only to find a vast field. Ginny groaned inwardly. When would they find some place with food and a bed?

"We're close to the Muggle town Leiston," Draco announced, as if reading her thoughts. "Then only seventy-five miles to London." 

"_Seventy-five_?" Ginny repeated. "And we're supposed to get there on foot?"

He glared at her. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I forgot to grab my broom in the two seconds we had before we left the hotel. Would you like me to go back and get it for you so you can travel in comfort?"

"Shut up," she said. "It's just that I'm hungry and I don't feel like walking anymore."

She expected him to criticize her, but he didn't say a word. Instead, he continued to walk.

About ten minutes later, they reached the city of Leiston. It was bright with the lights of the buildings, and Ginny felt slightly uneasy, like she did whenever she was in a total Muggle city.

"What do we do now?" Ginny demanded. 

"We find a place to sleep."

"Where? On the ground?"

"In a hotel like normal people, you idiot. Oh, wait, I forgot – you're so poor you're _used_ to sleeping on the ground when you're out of town."

"Malfoy . . ." She trailed off, too angry to finish.

"Use your head, Weasley, we're magic. We can get into a Muggle hotel room unnoticed very easily." He looked at her and shook his head as if she was disappointing him. "Just follow me, okay? Don't do anything to attract attention."

They did make an unusual sight, though, walking in to a hotel that looked promising. They were both wearing odd clothes – Draco was wearing his expensive black robes that weren't too clean anymore, and Ginny was wearing her raggedy black jumpsuit. Still, they tried to act natural as Draco approached the front desk.

"Yes, may I help you?" the young girl asked, smiling at them brightly.

"We need two rooms for the night," Draco said.

_How? We can't pay for it!_ Ginny thought frantically. But Draco looked very calm, almost confident.

"I'm sorry, sir, we only have one left," the girl said, frowning apologetically. "But it has a double bed, or we could bring up a cot for you."

"What room number?" Draco asked.

The girl looked slightly taken aback, but replied, "Um, room 203, sir. It's on the second floor."

"Great, we'll take it –" Draco reached into his pocket and stopped. "Oh, damn. Honey, do you have my wallet?"

Ginny was surprised when she realized he was talking to her. _Honey?_ she wondered. "Er – no," she managed to say through her shock.

"I must've left it back in that restaurant. Come on, let's go and see." He turned and started to walk out of the hotel. Ginny thanked the girl behind the desk and hurried after him.

"Honey?" she repeated once they were outside on the sidewalk. "You called me _honey?_!"

But Draco wasn't paying attention to her. He reached into his robes and pulled out his wand, peering back through the glass doors where he had a perfect view of the front counter. "I'll just distract her," he said under his breath, more to himself then to Ginny, "and then we can slip up to room 203 without anyone seeing us." Then he hissed, "_Niosia!_" 

Even from outside Ginny heard the large boom from somewhere behind the counter. The girl quickly turned and disappeared from view. Draco looked satisfied and hurried inside, not even bothering to see if Ginny was following him.

He found the stairs with some difficulty, refusing to use the Muggle device that Ginny called the "elevator" and went up to the second floor. Without any trouble he found room 203.

"_Alohomora_," he said, and the door sprung open. For the first time he turned and flashed a triumphant sneer at her. "You see, Weasley, being magic has its advantages. And having a _brain_ also has its advantages as well."

He spun and went into the room. Ginny followed him, saying indignantly, "I have a brain, moron. Everyone has a brain or else they couldn't function."

"Well, using it often helps," he replied smoothly. 

It was then, standing in the room, that the fact that there was only one bed dawned on Ginny. Draco seemed to notice her flushing at the thought of sharing a bed with him and said quickly, "You sleep on the floor. I'll take the bed."

"Oh, that's real fair!" she cried.

"Hey, I'm the one who got us this room, remember?"

"So?"

"So? What, do you want to _share_ a bed with me?"

"Of course not! That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard –"

"Then stop your whining and use this blanket to make a bed on the floor," he interrupted. He took the top blanket off the bed and threw it at her. It fell over her head and she flailed underneath it. Finally, she managed to, very ungracefully, yank it off her to see Draco smirking with amusement at her.

"God, you're such an ass," she hissed, and turned her back to him to begin making her bed.

"You've said that before." There was pleasure in his tone; he obviously enjoyed seeing her angry.

She didn't reply, but viciously made her pathetic bed on the floor. Even though she would never admit it, she was tired enough to sleep on nails. The floor looked very, very promising.

Draco used a sticking charm to seal the door so just in case someone actually bought the room couldn't get in with their key.

"But then they'll get management up here and they'll somehow break down the door," Ginny pointed out.

"No they won't," he said, taking off his shoes and getting into the bed. "But they'll probably make a lot of noise. Besides, I doubt anyone will come in the middle of the night anyway. It's nearly four in the morning."

"Is it that late?"

"Yes, now shut up so I can go to sleep."

Ginny got into her own bed and then realized she didn't have a pillow. "Give me a pillow."

He threw it at her and it landed right on her face. "Oooh," she said, furious, but managed not to say anything. Instead, with force she fluffed it and stuck it under her head, determined to fall asleep instantly.

After a second, she said, "I'm hungry."

"I don't care. Be quiet."

She closed her eyes, trying to stay patient. As much as he was annoying her, she really was grateful for all that he had done. He wasn't such a terrible person, was he? Maybe he was all talk – perhaps whatever he said he really didn't mean. After all, he had done so much for her so deep down that made him a good person.

_Doesn't it?_

A/N: Okay, please review!!! I'll do some really quick thank yous: Stega Brava, pyrobunnie, DarkKnight, Blythe, Labhaise, summer_thyme, Sweet Dreams, StrangerWithMyFace, Archer, Acquaria, and Dobby@Winky. Thanks for everyone who reviwed!!!


	5. The Crash

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Draco, Ginny, the Ministry, and practically everything else! They're not mine, please don't sue.

A/N: Sorry if this took too long to post, I've been busy with homework, soccer, and The Return of Salazar Slytherin :P

Chapter Five 

_The Crash_

Ginny woke up at nine the next morning. She could've slept a lot longer, but her stomach was rumbling and felt so empty she forced herself to get up.

Draco was still sleeping, a lump in the bed. All she could see was his hair, which seemed perfect even though he had slept without brushing it. Throwing him a dark look even though he was sound asleep, she turned and headed out of the room, sure to seal it behind her.

She went downstairs, hoping there was a free breakfast. She stiffened as she past the front desk, but there was a man attendant instead of the lady who had been there the night before.

To her immense relief, there was a free breakfast buffet. She piled her plate as full as she could and sat down. It didn't matter that the room was full and anyone could watch her being a pig. She scarfed the food down anyway. Afterwards, she was so full she began to feel sick and dragged herself back up to the room slowly.

When she turned the corner that the room was on she froze. Standing in front of the door was a couple, their luggage all around them, repeatedly trying to insert the card to open it. 

"D'you reckon they gave us the wrong key?" the woman asked her husband.

"Maybe," the man agreed. "I'll wait here with the luggage – be a dear and go down to get someone to help us."

The lady nodded and started coming towards Ginny. She smiled briefly as she passed her, thinking nothing of her.

_Damn!_ Ginny thought. _Why couldn't he leave, too?_

The man continued trying to open the door, sighing in frustration. Ginny kept at the corner, wondering how she would be able to get Draco out. She didn't have a watch so she didn't know what time it was. But who knew how much longer Draco would stay asleep? Not to mention if he suddenly waltzed out there would be questions to answer, especially after the help came and wanted to know why they were staying in a room that was supposed to be empty.

_Better get him out now before anyone else comes_, she decided, and approached the man.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, putting on a broad false smile. He stopped and looked at her. "Would you like some help?"

He eyed her warily. "Do you work here?"

"Yes sir," she lied quickly. "Here, let me try."

She gently pushed him aside, turning her back to him so he wouldn't see her use her wand. Just as she reached for it a voice called out, "Dear, I found someone!"

Ginny jerked her head to see the woman returning with a man wearing the maroon dress of the bellboys. She hurriedly shoved her wand back in her pocket and stepped back from the door. Great, now she would be in even more trouble once the bellboy says that she doesn't work there.

The lady once again smiled at Ginny, but her husband grabbed her arm rather roughly and pulled her to the side. The bellboy, probably around Ginny's age, ignored her totally and started on the door.

Ginny was debating whether on running or staying. A few yards away the man was whispering to his wife, glancing in her direction every so often. He even pulled out the newspaper and pointed something out, causing the woman's jaw to drop and her hand to fly to her mouth. Now they both stared at her.

_Oh no_, Ginny thought. _They recognize me!_

"Are you Ginny Weasley?" the man asked, stepping closer to her and thrusting the newspaper out, almost angrily. His wife grabbed his arm, as if terrified that he was putting himself at risk being so close to Ginny.

The bellboy stopped and turned to inspect her even closer. His eyes widened with recognition and then fear.

Ginny swallowed thickly and glanced at the newspaper. There was a black and white picture of her and Draco on it, but the pictures were completely still. They were in _Muggle_ newspapers! Oh God, everyone was looking for them now.

Ginny tried to laugh nervously. "Wow. She really does look like me, doesn't she?" she said, hoping her voice didn't come across shaky.

But the three's stares did not soften nor cease. The bellboy gave one glance and then turned and sprinted down the hall. Ginny watched him go, helpless.

He was probably going to alert everyone that she was there.

The man suddenly lunged for her, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around so her back was pressed against his front. His wife screamed and Ginny struggled, trying to get herself free from his iron grasp on her upper arms. Who did this guy think he was, anyway, grabbing her?

"Let me go," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Jim, let her go! She's dangerous, Jim, please!" the woman pleaded.

Ginny jerked forward and out of his grasp, reaching for her wand and spinning around to defend herself if he came after her again. To her surprise, he had stepped back and held his hands up as if surrendering.

She pointed her wand menacingly at them, still afraid he would suddenly come to grab her once more. Using her criminal reputation as being dangerous she said in a low, threatening voice, "Don't come any closer. I'm warning you now."

Oh God. I just threatened someone. Instead of pleading my innocence I just made it worse. Now more people will testify against me – even though Muggles don't really count, do they?

"We don't want any trouble," Jim said. "Just put that . . . thing away."

Ginny tried to make her face look as soft as possible and still not let him think that he could grab her again. Without taking her eyes off him, she pointed her wand at the door and said under her breath, "_Alohomora_."

The door sprung open.

Of course, she had been told all her life to never, _ever_ do magic in front of Muggles. But this was different. No one would really believe them if they said she somehow made the door open using some kind of stick, right? They'd just say that Jim and his wife were too afraid to even see and think straight.

_It's not like I'm some big murderer or anything_, Ginny thought. _All I did was use an Unforgivable Curse . . . I wonder what I did to make the Muggles think I'm so dangerous?_

"Don't move," Ginny said, hoping her voice wasn't as harsh as it had been before. Then she hurried into the room.

Draco was still asleep.

"Draco!" she whispered loudly, not bothering to close the door. "Draco, get up!"

He spoke without opening his eyes, his voice as normal as if he'd been awake for hours, not just waking up. "Shut up, Weasley, I'm trying to get some sleep."

"Draco, we've been _discovered_," she said, talking in a low hiss so the couple outside wouldn't hear.

Slowly, Draco sat up, his hair smooth and sleek as it had been when he'd gone to bed the night before. "Discovered?" he repeated, sounding dubious. 

Ginny reached forward and grabbed his arm, yanking him off the bed. "Come on, it's only a matter of minutes before the whole hotel knows about us."

He didn't look the least bit panicked, but shoved his shoes on quickly. Then he went out into the hall, barely glancing at the couple who had not moved since Ginny had left them. The woman let out a dry sob when she realized she was standing near two convicted felons. 

"The guy ran off that way," Ginny said, pointing down to the right. "So let's go this way." She gestured towards the left.

Draco merely nodded once and led the way.

But when the reached the stairs, they found that about five people dressed in black (Ginny recognized them as what Muggles called policemen) were hurrying up from the bottom. 

Ginny and Draco backed up and went back into the hallway. Ginny was beginning to panic.

"It's not like we _killed_ anyone," Draco said under his breath, and Ginny nearly laughed, even though it was more ironic than funny that he had said the exact thing she had been thinking. 

"The elevator," Ginny said. "That's the only other way down."

"I hope you know how to operate it," Draco replied, evidently agreeing to use it.

Now Ginny led the way, back past the frozen couple and their room and towards the direction the bellboy had fled. At the elevators, there were two buttons – one with an up arrow, another with a down arrow. Ginny pressed the down arrow because they obviously wanted to go down.

It seemed to take forever for the elevator to come. Ginny wasn't sure what to expect, but nothing was happening and she was wondering maybe if she hadn't done it right.

"They went that way," Ginny heard Jim's voice tell the men that were after them. In a second they would round the corner and find her and Draco.

With a ding, a pair of the double doors on either side of the buttons slid open. It was empty, which relived Ginny further. Without hesitation she hurried on, searching for more buttons. Her eyes rested on the panel to her right. There were numbered buttons, labeled 2-9. There were also buttons with the letters L and P on it.

"What do I push?" Ginny cried frantically.

"Well, we want floor one, don't you reckon?"

The doors slid shut before the police could even get a glimpse of them. Some of the panic in Ginny's chest subsided, but she knew it was only moments before they realized where they were.

"There is no one!" she said. 

"Then – push P," Draco suggested, sounding agitated that he had to make the decisions.

"What does P mean?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? Just push it, will you?"

Ginny pushed it.

There was a slight sensation that they were moving downwards that let Ginny know that they were beginning to go down. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Anything below floor two would be good, so she knew they would end up on the ground floor.

A minute later the doors opened again to reveal a wide, dark concreted area. There were many parked Muggle cars, and Ginny struggled to remember her year of Muggle Studies. Parking garages, were they called?

Ginny pointed towards the ramp that led out into sunlight, stepping off the elevator. "That way," she instructed.

Neither of them saying another word, they began to jog towards the ramp. They emerged into the bright sunlight, finding themselves in another parking lot on the side of the hotel. In the front there were black and white cars parked everywhere, blue and red lights flashing.

More policemen were there. So far, they hadn't seen them yet. 

"Across the street," Draco said, pointing towards their left at the shopping center. "Quick."

But then there was a shout, and Ginny turned to see that they had once again been spotted.

"Damn your hair!" Draco snapped, and began to sprint across the street. 

Ginny, a little angry he had blamed their being spotted on her hair, turned and ran after him. Horns blared around her as she crossed, and she prayed that no one would crash into her. 

She made it safely to the other side and glanced back. The police had jumped into the black and white cars and were pulling out the lot, preparing to cross the street after them.

"We'll never outrun them!" Ginny shrieked at Draco.

"We will!" Draco shouted back in her face, annoyed that she had shrieked shrilly right in his ear. "We have a little thing they don't and it's called _magic_."

Draco started towards one of the shops, as if hoping to hide from them.

"The only way we can use magic to help us is to hurt them or stupefy them or something," Ginny shot back, right on his heels. "And I won't do that. That'll only add to my record."

Draco ignored her. He seemed to be searching for the best store where they could get away from the police.

Ginny looked, too, though it seemed futile. What was the use? The sirens were wailing loudly, only reminding her of how close she was to being put in jail . . .

A car suddenly pulled in to a parking spot about ten yards from Ginny. The driver, a middle aged woman, got out and, oblivious to the police sirens, went inside the shop. It was then Ginny noticed something – _she hadn't turned off her car._

A wild plan began to form in Ginny's head. If they had a car, they'd have half a shot at escaping. She wasn't totally sure how to drive, but she had flown the car her father had bewitched when she was around ten. Of course, that had been over eight years ago. Plus it wasn't the same as driving it on a road, with other cars.

"Damn," Draco whispered under his breath, realizing they had no way to escape.

"Into the car," Ginny blurted before she could stop herself.

"What?" Draco snapped his head to look at her.

Ginny's heart began to thud at the thought of actually driving it away. Glancing back at the police cars, she saw they were having trouble getting across the road. It was busy, and no one was letting them out, despite their loud sirens.

"Weasley, you're not actually thinking of driving that, are you?"

Ginny could not tear her eyes from the vehicle, but she slowly thought about his question. Was she? They would have a better chance of escaping. How could they use magic in a shopping center full of eyewitnesses? The Ministry would have their hands full trying to erase the Muggles memories, and Ginny didn't want to cause her father any more stress than he was already under.

Her mind made up, Ginny dashed over to the right side of the car and jerked the door open. It was a luxury automobile, but she did not have the time to be grateful at the moment. She turned to see if Draco was coming, and saw him still standing a few yards away.

"Hurry!" she called.

"Are you mad?" Draco demanded. "I am not getting into that and letting you drive it. I'd rather be captured by the Muggles."

The sirens seemed to get louder as the police cars finally managed to get out of the hotel parking lot.

"On second thought, imagine the humiliation of being caught by Muggles," Draco added, and got into the passenger side.

The woman had left the keys in the ignition, of course, since it was already running. Now all Ginny needed to figure out was how to back up . . .

"Damnit, Ginny, hurry!" Draco snapped. "You do know how to use this thing, don't you?"

"Of course," she shot back, her eyes searching madly over the dashboard and steering wheel, hoping to find something that would help her.

_I need to do something,_ she thought, struggling to remember the layout of the Ford her dad had bewitched. _Something besides pressing the gas pedal . . . Oh, God, which is the gas?_

"Oh, bloody hell," Ginny muttered, and pulled out her wand. She pointed it at the steering wheel and said, "_Ritoria!_"

The car began to roll backwards.

The police cars had pulled into the parking lot.

Draco looked in his side mirror, watching as they flooded the exits to the parking lot. "We're never going to get out of here," he said through gritted teeth.

Ginny's heart was pounding so hard she was having trouble breathing. She reversed the spell so the car stopped rolling backwards, but she couldn't use magic on making it move forwards. They needed to do more than roll – they needed to speed and somehow make it past the policemen.

She began to push every button. A loud voice was calling, "You're surrounded, come out with your hands up . . ."

Finally, her hand rested on the stick between her and Draco's seat. Her foot pressed firmly on the pedal opposite the brake (hoping that meant it was the gas pedal) she jerked the stick backwards.

They tore forward with a jerk.

Ginny shrieked before gathering her wits about her and slamming on the brake. She fell ahead and slammed back against the seat. They had managed to get very, very close to the police cars, parked only centimeters from one of the bumpers.

There were so many people dressed in black, Ginny's heart plummeted to the ground. They were never going to get out! Why had she been stupid enough to hope?

Beside her, Draco was taking out his wand.

"No magic –" Ginny started, put Draco cut her off.

The wand pointed towards the front of their car, he whispered, "_Iniliaror._"

Nothing happened. But Draco held his wand in the air as if waiting for something.

"What was that for?" she asked him angrily.

His eyes were on the policemen, his expression unreadable, wand still upraised. "Go," he said softly.

"What?"

He finally looked at her. "Go!" he repeated furiously.

Ginny was so startled she obeyed without thinking, her foot falling down on the gas pedal. She gasped when she realized what she'd done – but to her surprise, instead of the car going straight into the police vehicle directly in front of them, the front lifted off the ground. And to her surprise even further, it went forward and over the line of police cars, as if it had taken a giant leap.

Draco dropped his wand into his lap, and the automobile crashed down onto the road. Cars coming towards them honked loudly and swerved, managing to avoid them and get back on the street correctly.

"Keep going!" Draco instructed.

Ginny pressed her foot on the gas pedal once more, this time knowing that they had a chance to escape. Though she was furious that he'd used magic, she bit her lip and began to concentrate on driving.

First she had to get in the correct lane. Twisting the steering wheel she pulled into the left lane, wondering how fast she should be going. Then it didn't matter – the sirens were starting again, and in a matter of seconds the police would be right on their tail. They had to go fast.

She pressed her foot down even further.

Cars whizzed by in the other lane. Unfortunately, it was only a two-lane road – one lane for each direction – and Ginny got stuck behind some slow person. 

"Move!" she shrieked, glancing in the rearview mirror and noticing the black and blue lights of the police cars. 

"Just go around them!" Draco ordered.

Ginny checked the right lane. No cars were coming – at least, they were far away and she could probably make it back in time. So she increased her speed and passed the slow car in front of her.

The road stretched on, and the next car was a little while away. Ginny pressed the gas pedal down as far as it would go and gripped the steering wheel.

"This is so dangerous," Draco said under his breath. "Why do Muggles use these?"

"Well, they normally don't try and run from people," she replied, slightly breathless. She looked in the mirror again – the police were only getting closer!

The road started to go up a hill that obviously went back down again, because it disappeared down the ridge. They had gained on the car that had been a bit ahead of them and now Ginny had to get around this one, too.

She swerved into the right lane, preparing to pass it.

And then, from above the hill came another car, heading head on for Ginny. Draco yelled out and she jerked the wheel to the right, only seconds from hitting the unfortunate person ahead of them.

The area around the road stopped down steeply, and only about a hundred yards down from it was a forest. Ginny was going too fast to stop, though she desperately tried to find the brake. Where was it? Oh God, why couldn't she find it? Her foot kept hitting the floor, not a pedal. 

Ginny stopped concentrating on the brake once they began to go through the trees. Instead, she tried to steer them around the big trees, praying that they wouldn't hit anything.

Flashes of green and brown whizzed by. Beside her, Draco was gripping his armrest so hard his knuckles were white, whiter than the rest of him, and it was obvious he was gritting his teeth just preparing to smash into something. If Ginny hadn't been driving she would've been screaming out of her wits.

Somehow, keeping an eye on the trees kept her voice from jumping out of her throat. They were going so fast it was amazing that she hadn't hit anything it. The car bumped constantly, and one time Ginny's head struck the ceiling. When were they going to stop?

Behind them, the sirens had disappeared. Or maybe the sound of wood and bushes rushing by drowned them out. Either way, Ginny didn't have time to worry about them.

She had to worry about keeping alive.

And just when she was beginning to get the hang of it, just when she thought they'd be able to roll to a stop without being killed, a huge tree came out of nowhere. It all happened to fast – she had no time to jerk the wheel, had no time to try and find the brake again. One minute it loomed in front of them and the next the car had rammed into it.

She lurched forward, but something cushioned her fall. If it could be called "cushioned". An airbag popped out of the steering wheel and softened the jerk. Beside her, an airbag in front of Draco had also appeared. But they had rammed the tree on the left side, on Draco's side. Ginny's side wasn't looking too good, but it was a lot better than his. The front must've trapped him between the dashboard and the seat because he had barely jerked anywhere. The airbag had just come out.

Ginny felt stunned for a moment as pain shot up and down her body. The dashboard had also mashed in enough to hit her in the knees hard, and falling into the airbag had knocked the wind out of her. But she was alive, and stunned.

"Are you –" Ginny turned her head to look at Draco, her voice trembling. But when she saw him she cut off.

His head was lying limply to one side, and blood was streaming down his face. Her heart jumped into her throat. 

_Oh, God, don't be dead!_ she thought, too scared to move, too shaken to move. _Please, don't be dead . . ._

Not only was she upset that he was possibly dead, but how could she live with herself if he was? She had insisted they take the car. She had been driving. It was all her fault. What was she going to do?

She couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. The airbag covered his chest. But all she knew was that there was a slight chance he was okay, and that she had to get him out of there. She was going to get him out, and then they would run from the police. It would take them a while to get down there.

Ginny pushed the door open. It stuck at first, but after a few shoves it finally sprung free. Her knees were pinched painfully between the seat and the area underneath the steering wheel, the wheel itself digging into her thighs. It caused her too much pain to pull them out themselves, so she used her arms to yank them free. The pain was so great her eyes welled up with tears. But she knew that whatever she was feeling Draco was feeling ten times worse – or, at least, he would be if he were conscious. 

She could not walk. So she quickly fixed her legs using magic just enough so it wouldn't hurt terribly when she used them. They still ached terribly, but at least she could stumble around the car to Draco's side.

The front of it was hissing smoke. She was beginning to get afraid that the car might blow up. She had to get Draco out and fast.

But his door wouldn't open. No matter how hard she tugged it would not budge. She could understand, considering how far the front had been smashed in. But hers had opened, why wouldn't his?

So she ended up using magic to open that and was finally able to get to Draco. Blood was pouring down the right side of his face, dripping onto his shoulder and disappearing into the black of his clothes. Ginny's body felt shaky, hoping that blood still oozing was a sign that his heart was still pumping. 

She stabbed her wand into the airbag and popped it so it wouldn't be in the way. Then she inspected the situation. How would she get him out? He was pinned between the dashboard and the seat, and she couldn't even fit her hand between the dashboard and him they were so close. What was she going to do?

She didn't know any magic that would help. She'd only taken Muggle studies one year, but she had a feeling even if she'd taken it all seven years of her school career they still wouldn't have taught her how to use magic and extract a person from a bashed up automobile. 

Holding her wand in her teeth, she reached in and gripped Draco's shoulders. She tried to pull him free but it only caused his head to jerk slightly. With a sigh of frustration, she let go of him, the hand that had gripped his right shoulder covered with sticky blood.

_Think, Ginny, think_, she commanded herself. _You can do this. There has to be a spell to get him out. Think._

Noises up the hill made her jerk her head in that direction. The police were coming down, though she couldn't see them through the thick foliage. Soon they would find them and she would have killed Draco for nothing.

_He has to be alive_, she thought stubbornly. _He has to._

She tried his legs this time, tried pulling them out. It took a few seconds, but she managed to get one of them out from underneath the dashboard. Happy at her small achievement, she worked on the other.

Within a minute, Draco was at an odd angle – his hips up were still facing forward, but his legs were out to the side. Ginny would've laughed had the situation not been so serious. 

She grabbed his left arm and tried to tug his torso out. It moved ever so slightly.

Now she could hear voices. They Muggles were getting closer. She didn't have much more time.

She yanked again, this time harder. If he had been awake it would've hurt tremendously, but at the moment all she could think about was getting him out and getting them away fast. She would heal his wounds later.

With one final tug, Draco fell out of the car and slumped to the ground. Ginny let out a breath of relief. Then, without hesitating, she levitated him up into the air and began to run deeper into the forest, making sure that he was trailing behind her, on his back in the air, and not hitting any more trees.

A/N: Hope you liked it! Please review, I love reviews!


	6. Anger

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the idea, Warner Brothers owns merchandise and all that other good stuff.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to post :) I'm just a very busy girl . . .

Chapter Six

_Anger_

Ginny ran as fast as she possibly could.

She had only been running a few seconds before a loud boom caused her to stop and look back. Slowing, she looked up she saw smoke rising over the trees. The car had blown up.

Swallowing hard, Ginny felt rooted to the ground. If she had waited any longer both her and Draco could've still been in or near the car. They would both be in many pieces now.

_I hope nobody got hurt_, she thought, squeezing her eyes shut. She took a deep breath then forced herself to keep running, and began to sprint again.

After about ten minutes, Ginny had to stop. The smell of charred metal was no longer filling her nostrils, so she took that as a sign that she was a good distance away from the police. Doubled over, leaning on her knees, she panted, trying to catch her breath.

But she couldn't rest. She had to tend to Draco before he bled to death.

If he wasn't already dead.

She turned and lowered him gently onto his back on the ground with her wand. Wiping his bloody hair off his forehead, she tried to find where the exact wound was.

Instantly she found it. There was a huge gash just above his right eyebrow. It looked as if a piece of the windshield had cut him. _He's lucky it didn't get his eye_, Ginny thought. She racked her brain for a healing spell that could seal up his cut. She had been preparing to go to medical magical school before she was accused of the Unforgivable Curse, knowing that she had wanted to be some sort of doctor. Most of her last years at Hogwarts had been spent reading medical books in her spare time, so she knew a fair amount of spells that cured sicknesses and pains.

Finally she decided on the best charm and whispered a few words. Immediately the slash sealed up and she let out a whoosh of breath, relieved. Draco was still alive and no longer bleeding.

With another wave of her wand the blood vanished from his face, clothes, and hair and he just looked like he was sleeping. 

Ginny got to her feet and once more levitated him into the air. She began to walk slowly deeper into the woods, still trying to shake off the fear and panic from the crash.

_We got lucky_, she thought with a shiver, then forced it out of her mind.

She combed her fingers through her hair, trying to get the knots out. She could only imagine what she looked like. Her hair was filthy and her body was sticky from the heat, causing her jumpsuit to stick to her skin. Overall she felt very, very dirty.

The woods were not that big, because soon Ginny came out to another road. It was busier than the one she'd been driving on and she figured it was a highway. Looking both ways she found that no other civilization was in sight – just the whizzing of cars as they sped past her assured her that she wasn't totally alone.

She had left Draco back in the woods on the ground, knowing very well that if anyone had seen him floating in the air it would've caused unwanted attention. But as she stood beside the road, trying to figure out what to do, she heard him say loudly, "Weasley?"

He was awake. She hurried back to the edge of the forest and found him sitting up, looking around for her. When his eyes rested on her he smirked. "Still alive?"

"I was in much better shape than you," she retorted, offering him her hand to help him stand.

He ignored it and got to his feet himself. 

Frowning angrily, she lowered her arm. "I saved your life, Malfoy. You would've bled to death if I hadn't helped you."

"What, you think I'm supposed to be thanking you on one knee?" he sneered. "If you can't remember back a few days ago _I_ saved _you_. So we're even now."

He had a point. What had she expected, that he would sob out thank you after thank you in gratitude?

"So what are we going to do now?" he asked. "Pretty soon the Ministry will hear about the spotting of us and be on our trail again, and they can get us a lot easier than Muggles."

Ginny sighed. "I don't know. I don't know what to do."

"Don't be so optimistic, Weasley," he said, obviously pleased that she felt helpless. "First thing we have to do, though, is get me something to eat. I'm very close to resulting to cannibalism."

Ginny tried not to look horrified at his serious expression. 

After a long stretch of awkward silence, she finally spoke. "We should just follow the road until we come to a town somewhere. Then you can get yourself something to eat."

He did not reply, but followed her back up to the side of the road. 

"Which way?" she asked, looking both left and right.

He pointed to the left. Ginny hoped they weren't heading back to the city they had just left and began to lead the way.

They had only been walking a few minutes before Draco began to complain.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into getting into that car," he muttered. "I must've had a death wish –"

"Malfoy, shut up," Ginny snapped irritably, not even bothering to turn around to look at him. "If we hadn't done that we'd be sitting in a Muggle jail this very moment."

"At least I would've been _fed_," he grumbled.

"'At least I would've been fed,'" Ginny mimicked under her breath, rolling her eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You said something. I heard you."

"Yes, I did say something. But I don't want to tell you."

"Fine, I don't want to know."

"Good."

"Good."

Ginny bit her lip to keep herself from answering. Was she ever going to get along with him? _Probably not_, she answered herself. _We should do ourselves a favor and go our separate ways._

But the thought of venturing alone made her stomach clench. As much as Draco bothered her, his company was somewhat comforting. To know that someone else along with her was on the most wanted list made the ordeal seem a lot easier. It wasn't easy, but it could be a lot worse. 

"Weasley, you know something?"

"I know a lot of things."

"You really need a shower."

She laughed shortly. "Thank you for pointing out the obvious." She glanced over her shoulder at him but kept walking. "You don't look too clean yourself," she said, but she was half lying. His hair was a bit on the wild side, falling into his eyes much to his annoyance, but it still looked as clean and blond as it always was, and his robes were so dark it was hard to tell if they were grimy or not. But they were torn in several places, and he had a smudge of dirt on his chin. Ginny smiled as she resumed looking ahead, glad that his perfect skin could actually get dirty, though in every other place on his face his complexion was clean. 

"I know exactly how I look," he snapped. 

"Wonderful for you."

She could almost hear him frowning. Though he really was bothering her, she managed to keep it out of her tone and he was agitated that he couldn't get a reaction from her.

_Like Mum always says when Fred and George are annoying me_, she thought with a grin, _"just ignore them and they'll stop."_

"How come you're not hungry?" Draco demanded, changing the subject.

"I got food before we left the hotel," she replied, smiling even wider. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much for asking."

"I did _not_ ask."

"Yes you did. You asked –" She cut off when she noticed a car was slowing to a stop alongside her. She and Draco stopped walking, glancing at the driver of the car with interest.

It was a guy around Ginny's age, and he was grinning up at them. "Hello there. You two need a lift?"

_Lift?_

At their blank expressions, he elaborated. "A ride," he said. His grin did not diminish in the slightest. "If you take ride from strangers."

Ginny glanced at Draco, and his silver eyes flashed. She could almost hear him thinking, _Not another car. I will not get in another car._

Just to tick him off, Ginny grinned and returned her attention to the boy in the car. "We would love a ride," she said, and got in the passenger side.

Reluctantly, Draco opened the door and got in the back seat behind her. Ginny could feel him glaring at her but refused to look back at him.

"So where are you two going?" the guy asked as he pulled back out onto the road. "I'm Kyle, by the way."

Ginny introduced herself, and when Draco remained silent, she had to introduce him as well. "We're going anywhere, really," she explained. "The next town will be fine."

Kyle smiled warmly at her, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at her. "You don't have any luggage, so you can't be hitchhikers. My guess is that you're runaways, but runaways normally have suitcases too. Might I ask what's going on?"

"No you may not," Draco said sharply from the backseat.

Kyle laughed, and Ginny found herself smiling with him. "All right. Sorry if I pried. I normally don't give rides to strangers, but when I saw that red hair I had to stop. Something made me."

Ginny felt herself blush and she didn't know why. Draco sighed loudly, making his annoyance known.

"I'm sorry," Kyle said, looking in the rearview mirror at Draco. "You two are, well, _together_, aren't you?"

Ginny's mouth dropped when she realized what he meant by together. "No!" she cried before she could stop herself. "Not at all."

"Yeah," Draco agreed, smirking. "We're brother and sister."

She glanced back at him, eyes wide, but made no attempt to contradict him.

"Oh." Kyle actually believed him, even though Ginny and Draco resembled each other absolutely none. "Running away from the parents, are we?"

Ginny nodded, anything to get him to stop asking them questions. "Yes," she said, sinking her seat. "We're running from home."

"I can't blame you," Kyle said, flashing her another smile. "My parents are very strict, too. But I'm such a coward – I would never run away. I don't have any brothers to protect me."

Ginny nearly laughed out loud. Draco, protect her? _Please_, she thought, turning her face towards the window and rolling her eyes.

Kyle nodded to a sign. "Ipswich is coming up soon. We'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

The ride seemed to go quickly. Kyle talked nonstop about his life, what he wanted to major in from collage, and what his hobbies were. Ginny couldn't help but notice he flirted with her the whole time, and wondered how anyone would want to get her attention with her in the state she was in – a total mess. But she rather enjoyed it, and for a little while actually forgot that she was being hunted by the Ministry and the only person she had for companionship was Draco Malfoy.

When they reached the city of Ipswich, Draco finally spoke up.

"Just let us out at the nearest restaurant," he said tightly.

A few minutes later, Kyle pulled up to the curb in front of an Italian restaurant. Draco immediately got out but Ginny remained seated. She turned to thank Kyle when suddenly he leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

Well, he sort of missed and actually ended up kissing the area under her nose and a bit of her upper lip. It was quick, and when he pulled away she had the urge to wipe it with the back of her hand. 

He just grinned at her, as if he thought she had enjoyed it. Which she hadn't.

"Thanks for the ride," she mumbled, and hurried to get out of the car.

"Here's my number," he said, slipping her a piece of paper. She took it and avoided his eyes, though she didn't plan on calling him _ever_. Without another word she went around the car and joined Draco in front of the restaurant's door.

Kyle drove off with one final wave, and Draco stared at her sourly.

She was too busy trying to get the icky, slobbery feeling of Kyle's kiss off her upper lip by wiping it with her hand to notice him at first. Finally, she looked up and met his eyes. "What?" she demanded, annoyed.

"Make friends quickly, don't you?" His eyes were unusually dark.

He had seen. She felt her cheeks burn – it was embarrassing enough witnessing it herself, but it was utter humiliation to have Draco see it. 

"I thought you were hungry," she muttered, lowering her gaze.

He stared at her for a minute or two more before he turned and went into the restaurant. Ginny waited outside and sat on the curb, watching cars roll by and feeling depressed. She couldn't explain why she felt so down, even though she had many reasons. Her family was ashamed of her, the Ministry and Muggle police were after her, Draco was going to rag on her about how she had kissed a guy within thirty minutes of meeting him . . .

But for some reason it wasn't any of those things. She just felt depressed and couldn't think of an excuse why.

Moments later Draco came outside with a huge bowl of spaghetti. If she had been in a better mood she would've laughed.

"How did you get that?" she asked wearily, standing up.

"I distracted the cooks and stole it," he said bluntly, avoiding her eyes. "Let's go somewhere where I can eat."

They found a small park with picnic tables down the street. She sat across from him and watched him eat his food, amazed at his ability not to get the sauce all over his face. She had never been able to master that skill – she always slurped spaghetti. She remembered how her brothers used to always make fun of her for managing to get the tomato sauce all the way up on her forehead, and felt a stab of homesickness. Would she ever sit down for a stress-free meal with her family again?

Draco ate the complete bowl without offering her any. She didn't care, though, because she wasn't hungry.

Afterwards, they sat at the table without speaking, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Draco spoke up.

"Are we going to sit here all day?"

Ginny stared at him, then shook her head slowly. "No."

The truth was, she had to start thinking of ways to clear her name. She had been so absorbed in everything else she had forgotten the original purpose of running from the Ministry in the first place. By the time they reached London she hoped to have figured out a way to prove her innocence. 

"I've had my fill of cars," Draco said as they walked out of the park. "So from now on we're walking."

Ginny sighed. "Look, Malfoy, I don't think you could've driven any better than I did, so –"

"I wasn't talking about _that_. If we hitch a ride from another Muggle I think I'm going to vomit."

She was entitled to agree, if all Muggles were like Kyle, but she knew they weren't. Somehow she was offended by his comment and grabbed his arm. He stopped and looked at her, one eyebrow raised. 

She jerked her hand back to her side. "You are such a horrible person, Malfoy," she hissed. 

For a minute an unfathomable look passed over his eyes, but then he smirked and looked amused. "Yes I am. But this horrible person is what's keeping you out of the Ministry's clutches."

"I could do this without your help!" she insisted, furious. "The only time I needed you was after the bus went down – every time after that I've been the one to save _you_. When the Muggles were outside the hotel room. Driving the car. Keeping you from bleeding to death."

His smirk evaporated and was replaced by an angry look. "Let's recap for a minute, shall we? If I hadn't saved you from the water, then I wouldn't have had to steal a Muggle hotel room, therefore avoiding that incident. The Muggle police wouldn't be after me because they wouldn't have considered me an accomplice. I wouldn't have been in a car if you hadn't been with me, and thus I wouldn't have nearly died from smashing into a tree. All of this has been caused by _you._ So it's only right that you clean it up. You speak as if you expect me to be grateful when it's you responsible for all that's happened."

She stood fuming, trying to think of something to say back. "I'm not responsible for it all," she snapped finally. "If your father hadn't lied then I wouldn't have been on my way to Azkaban in the first place."

"This is true," Draco agreed, smirking once more. "But my father isn't here, is he? I guess we'll just have to blame you."

"What?!" she shrieked. It made no sense.

Draco only laughed at her. "You look identical to your brother when you're mad."

She had an irresistible urge to smack his smug face, but spun and stalked away from him before she did. She didn't like hitting people – one time, she'd punched Fred in the nose so hard he had stumbled backwards and struck his head on the corner of the wall. He ended up with a concussion and a broken nose. She felt terrible and had vowed never to hit anyone in the face again.

But Draco was sure testing her vow.

Draco was very annoyed.

He wasn't too annoyed at Ginny. It was that Muggle Kyle who had rubbed him the wrong way.

And he didn't know why. A part of him tried to tell him it was because he was flirting with Ginny, but why would that bother him? He didn't care about Ginny – anyone could flirt with her. But deep down he knew that was the reason. He didn't like the thought of someone else having all of her attention. 

_So what?_ he thought furiously, angry with himself. _She's a Weasley. I don't care at all. Kyle can marry her for all I care._

Then he'd gotten her into a fit of angry silence because he'd started a fight with her, taking his frustrations out on her. He felt a twinge of guilt, but pushed it away. He would _not_ feel guilty for getting her upset.

Once more she led the way through the town, her feet falling a little too heavily on the concrete to show she was stomping in anger. He laughed at her, but she ignored him.

"Do you have any clue where you are going?" he asked her lightly.

"No," she muttered darkly. Then she stopped and turned to face him. "You know what?"

He crossed his arms and pretended to look bored. "What?"

"We don't get along."

"We don't? Oh, that's a surprise. I thought we were great friends."

"Maybe it would be better if we just went our own way."

He had not expected her to say that. He was used to having girls depend on him, need him to keep them safe. The last thing he had expected was for her to suggest they separate.

He must've let his surprise show, because Ginny's face softened.

"I just don't think –" she faltered, looking down. 

"You never think," he snapped, and was annoyed with himself for letting his feelings known. "I agree with you. If I spend one more minute with you I might have to strangle you. So good luck."

Before he turned and started to stride away he saw her stricken look. It almost stopped him – almost. But he was determined to keep going, hoping that with each step he would forget how she was beginning to grow on him. 

Draco half-expected her to hurry after him and say that she didn't want to separate, that she wanted to stay with him. 

But she didn't.

A/N: Don't worry, they aren't going to stay apart forever. You really think I'd do that? Anyway, please review!!!


	7. Rescue

Ginny stood on the sidewalk for a long time

Disclaimer: JK Rowling

Chapter Seven 

_ _

Ginny stood on the sidewalk for a long time. People rushed by, ignoring her. But she was sure she looked pretty stupid, standing with her arms crossed and staring almost longingly at the corner where Draco had disappeared.

He'd really left her. She wasn't sure what possessed her to suggest they go their own way – after all, she didn't mean it. But she'd been so _angry_ with him, the words had just left her lips before she could even think. And as she tried to take them back, he had agreed with her and left.

_What am I going to do now?_ she thought.

Then she felt mad at herself for acting like a child. She wasn't two years old – she could make it by herself without Draco. It wasn't like he had helped her much anyway – he'd just been ill company.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and began to walk the opposite way Draco had left. 

_Think,_ she commanded herself. The best way to get her mind off things was to try and find a wizard library and proceed to clear her name. 

She crossed her arms and ducked her head, not wanting anyone to see and recognize her. There was a sense of insecurity in the pit of her stomach, and she knew it was because she was on her own. God, why didn't she feel safe without Draco? He hadn't been keeping her safe! He'd just been there.

_I'm such an idiot_, she thought. _I shouldn't have said anything. I should've kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to separate. _

It was partially his fault, too, because he'd made her so angry! Just thinking about it made her blood boil, but she also felt a longing deep inside her. 

"Misery loves company," she muttered under her breath. "That's the only reason I want him here."

"Ginny!"

At first, her heart leapt into her throat, thinking it was Draco. But before she even turned her head to see, she knew it wasn't. He wouldn't call her by her first name. And his voice wasn't so high pitched.

She glanced to her right and nearly groaned. Pulling alongside her on the curb was Kyle. Hadn't he left the city yet?

"Hi!" he called, pulling to a stop beside her. She felt it would be very impolite to keep walking, so she stopped, too. 

"Kyle," she said, keeping her voice neutral. "I thought you had to get home."

"Well, I did," he said quickly. "But I couldn't get you off my mind. I started to drive home, and all I could think about was our kiss." _Kiss_? Ginny's mind screamed. "So I drove back and I'm so glad I found you! Where's Draco?"

"He, um . . ." she trailed off. "He went to the bathroom in a store back there," she finally answered.

"Oh. Why don't you sit in the car and wait with me?"

That was the last thing on earth Ginny wanted to do. She forced a smile. "Thanks, but I'd rather walk. I need to stretch my legs."

"Aw, c'mon," he pleaded. "Just for a few minutes. There's something else I want to tell you and I don't like talking through the window."

The smarter part of Ginny hesitated. She really didn't want to listen to him anymore. After all, he was part of the reason why Ginny wasn't with Draco anymore. And if she sat too long, he'd realize that Draco wasn't really in the bathroom.

"Just for a minute or two," she relented, opening the passenger door. "I promised Draco I'd meet him back in the front of the store."

Kyle grinned. "No problem."

A heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, Ginny sat down. She had just managed to shut the door when Kyle suddenly pressed his foot down on the gas and the car lurched forward.

Ginny gasped, too stunned to react at first. But as they tore down the street, she realized what a big mistake she'd made.

"Kyle!" she shrieked, gripping the armrest. "What are you doing?"

"Just going for a ride," he replied nonchalantly. Ginny knew they were well above the speed limit because he was beginning to calmly pass cars as if it were the normal thing to do.

Ginny let out a cry of disbelief and looked out the windshield. They were coming to a stop light – good. She could jump out when they were stopped and – 

Without warning, Kyle jerked the wheel and they turned sharply to the right, making a U turn. Ginny screamed and fell against the door. She hadn't bothered to put her seatbelt on because she didn't want to be even more trapped into the car and felt like she was flapping around like a lifeless doll. 

Kyle had changed directions and gone into the opposite lane. Now they were heading back they way they'd came – the direction Draco had gone.

"I don't like red lights," he said, glancing at her with a grin. "Do you?"

"You're going to kill us!" Ginny cried, watching as the speed crept higher and higher.

Suddenly, Kyle's happy mood vanished. He looked sad. "You're not having fun?"

Ginny just gaped at him, breathing hard. 

And then he became angry. "You weren't ever going to call me, were you?" he screamed, his outburst causing her to jump. When she didn't reply instantly, he yelled, "_Were you?!_"

It was then Ginny knew there was something very wrong with Kyle's head.

"I-I was," she sputtered, lying. "Of course I was going to call you, Kyle –"

"I give you and your brother a ride and you don't even want to call me?" he shouted, not listening to her. "It was the least you could do, Ginny! I like you a lot and you weren't going to call me. You never wanted to see me again, did you?"

Ginny's heart pounded in slow, hard thuds. She could feel it in her throat and swallowed. The fear was almost as terrible as it had been when the Cell Bus had been sinking.

And then it struck her. She had her wand! She could use her wand to disable the car's engine! 

_Oh, of all things_, she thought, reaching into her pocket for her wand. _I'm such an idiot! I should've thought of it the minute he started to drive!_

Kyle kept his eyes on the road, his jaw clenched. He didn't notice as she pulled out her wand. Her mind raced for a perfect spell – she couldn't stun him, because then there wouldn't be anyone to drive. She had to do something to the car without causing the engine to blow up. Finally, she settled on causing the wheel to lock in place so he'd have to stop or else they'd crash.

She raised her wand and opened her mouth to say the words.

Out of nowhere, Kyle snatched the wand right out of her hand. He didn't even bother to turn his head from the road and rolled down his window. Ginny stared in shock, too petrified to do anything, as he dropped it right out the window, and with it, her hope.

She turned in her seat to see where it fell. It rolled in the middle of the street, and Ginny prayed that no one would run over it. Oh, God, why hadn't she been quick enough to grab it back? Why did she have to freeze up when she needed to react?

She looked out Kyle's window at the sidewalk, hoping that maybe she could scream for help. And to her immense relief, she saw the familiar silver hair of Draco.

Kyle's window was still down. Ginny didn't even think – she leaned over him and stuck her head as far out as she could. Kyle swerved, cursing loudly.

"_Draco_!" she screamed, losing her head completely and calling him by his first name. "Draco, help – !"

Kyle's shot out his fist and his knuckles caught her under her chin, causing her head to snap back. The force was so great she fell back into her seat, the back of her head slamming into her window. She sat there stunned for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

Then she twisted around to see if Draco had seen her. A few people were staring at the car in surprise, but no had attempted to do anything. Her eyes searched frantically, but she didn't see Draco. He had disappeared into the crowd and was not coming after them.

Dread spread through her body, making her feel numb. Had she really expected Draco to run after the car? He probably didn't even care. They were even – he'd saved her life, she'd saved his. He didn't owe her anything.

Beside her, Kyle had started to shout again.

Draco had heard Ginny calling for him. He had only managed to get a glimpse of her hair before she ducked back into the car, and then had seen Kyle driving. Immediately he felt annoyed and angry – she would rather spend time with a Muggle than him? But then, who could blame her. Draco hadn't exactly been nice to her, had he?

He stared sourly at the car speeding down the road away from him. Her voice echoed in his head. _Draco, help . . . !_

"Help?" he muttered. 

Then he saw her wand in the road.

He wasn't sure how he could tell it was hers from such a distance. But he knew it was a wand. "_Accio_ wand!" he whispered, keeping his own wand low. It flew off the street into his waiting hand. People glanced curiously at him, but he ignored them.

_She needs help_, he thought, once more staring off into the direction the car had left. It had turned a corner and was gone.

What should he do? Should he go and help her? He didn't need to. After all, she wasn't his concern. It didn't matter. They were even – he owed her absolutely nothing.

But somehow he found himself sprinting down the sidewalk. _I'll never catch up with the car_, he thought. _It was going too fast._

He didn't stop running.

Ginny didn't realize she was crying until hot tears poured down her cheeks. She wiped them away and tried to think. Kyle was mad – that much was clear. He had finally stopped yelling about how she didn't appreciate him, about how she had led him on and then never planned on seeing him again (as if they'd known each other for weeks), but was now muttering to himself.

They came to another stoplight, but this time Kyle didn't turn around. He stopped the car, and kept talking under his breath.

Ginny didn't hesitate. She grabbed the door handle and yanked it.

The door didn't open.

She jerked it again, and pushed her whole body against the door. "Open!" she cried, more tears falling down her cheeks. 

Kyle reached over and grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled hard. Ginny shrieked and her hands flew up to try and make him release his grip, her head tilted backwards. 

"You think I'm stupid, Ginny?" he whispered harshly, ignoring her nails raking across the back of his hand. "I put the child lock on so you couldn't get out from the inside."

"Let go," she pleaded, hating how whiny she sounded. But she couldn't help it – she was terrified. Kyle had her at his mercy and could do whatever he wanted with her. Without her wand she was powerless.

He laughed shortly and pushed her head forward before dropping her hair. His shove caused her forehead to smack into her window, and it hurt. She put a hand to it and closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from leaking out. 

And then the door opened. She could feel it.

Ginny opened her eyes and gaped up at Draco. He reached in and grabbed her upper arms, pulling her out. Ginny gratefully gripped the front of his robes and started to scramble up.

Kyle reached up and grabbed the back collar of her jumpsuit. He pulled it so hard it began to choke her and she released Draco to try and pull some of the tightness out so she could breath. 

The light turned green. People began honking when Kyle didn't move. No one seemed bothered that there was a struggle going on.

Draco let go of Ginny's arms and tried to pry Kyle's hands off her jumpsuit. But he had a strong hold and wouldn't let go. 

Ginny was making short choking sounds as she tried to get air into her lungs. Draco gave up and reached for his wand and shouted, "_Scorchrio!_"

Kyle shrieked and let go. He leaned back in his seat and stared down at his hands, the skin turning a black charred color before his eyes. 

Ginny coughed and sputtered as Draco helped her the rest of the way out of the car. He supported her and they ran to the sidewalk, hurrying away from Kyle's car. Even though Ginny's throat was still aching and her scalp was still burning, she couldn't help but notice how nice it was to have Draco's arm firmly around her shoulders.

A/N: All right, I'm sorry to stop here, but I've got to go to a party and I wanted to post this before I went! Please review and I'll thank those who have in the next chapter!!!


	8. Spotted

Disclaimer: JK Rowling 

A/N: All right, this is chapter when they FINALLY kiss!

Chapter Eight – _Spotted_

_ _

Draco and Ginny took shelter in a bookstore about a block away from where they'd left Kyle. Ginny was still trying to catch her breath, the burning in her throat causing her to cough and that made it worse. 

When they got inside, Draco led them to an empty aisle and dropped his arm from her shoulder. Ginny's heartbeat began to return to normal, and she was able to fix her gaze firmly on him.

He had been looking at her with something close to worry in his steel eyes, but when he caught her glance he replaced it with a smirk. "Can't stay out of trouble for twenty minutes without me, can you, Weasely?"

Ginny took a shuddering breath, too grateful to even take offense. "I didn't know . . ." she said, placing her arm against a bookshelf and leaning her forehead against it, her other hand over her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know he was going to drive off."

There was a silence after that, and Draco cleared his throat awkwardly. "I was just kidding, Weasley," he said finally. 

She did not reply. Draco had not expected her to be so shaken up. She'd gotten out of a sinking bus and survived a car accident, but was freaking out because some guy drove off with her? 

"God, Weasley, he didn't hurt you, did he?"

Ginny didn't even look at him. He wasn't concerned – he was agitated. "Draco," she said in a low voice, and his eyes widened at the use of his first name. "Why are you so cruel?"

He blinked, not sure how to answer.

She finally opened her eyelids and lifted her head off the bookshelf, staring at him. He saw anger in her eyes, and felt annoyed with himself for making her furious at him again. 

"You have no idea what I've been through the past few weeks," she said shrilly. "No clue. I've witnessed a man being tortured, been accused for it, seen my family and those I love look away from me in shame, been trapped on a drowning bus, slammed into a tree going fifty miles an hour, and been scared out of my wits because some nut case lured me into his car. And all _you_ can think of is how pathetic I'm acting right now. Well you, know what?" Draco stared at her, his expression unreadable, as tears welled up in her eyes. _Don't cry_, she ordered herself. _Don't cry in front of him._ "I'm tired of it," she said, her chin quivering as she tried to hold her tears back. "I'm so sick of it all. I have no idea how I'm going to prove myself innocent, or if I will stay out of the clutches of the Ministry to do it, or even if I'll live long enough to keep away from the Ministry. Right now all I can think of is what's the point? Why am I even _trying_?"

She could've gone on and on, but the first tear spilled over and her throat closed up. She looked down and then hurried away towards the bathroom, well aware of Draco's eyes boring into her back as she half ran.

Draco sighed. He didn't think she was pathetic – no, it was the exact opposite. He admired her. Now he understood why she'd looked so crushed; all the events she'd been through were coming together and now she couldn't stand it. If Draco wasn't careful about what he said, or what he did, she could probably throw herself off a bridge. A person could only handle so much, but only someone with a strong will could have handled as much as Ginny was.

The ordeal with Kyle had just topped it off.

Fury rose up in him and he once more felt the urge to rip off the Kyle's head. This time it was because of what he had done to Ginny, not of how he bothered Draco. It wasn't fair that Ginny had to go through so much when she didn't deserve it. It wasn't fair that she couldn't think of her family without remembering how ashamed of her they were at the very moment. After all, running only added to people's guilt. 

_What am I doing?_ Draco thought suddenly. _I'm feeling bad for Ginny Weasley? Why should I feel bad for her? She's not my problem . . ._

But she was his problem. If she wasn't, then he wouldn't have run after Kyle's car the way he had. He would've turned his head and walked the other way. 

As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to have feelings for her.

Twenty minutes later, Ginny returned from the bathroom. Her eyes were puffy and red, her hair was disheveled, and her cheeks were streaked with dry tears, but Draco thought she looked just as stunning as ever.

"Here," he said quietly, handing her her wand. She took it from him slowly, and then glanced up to meet his eyes for a split second before looking down again.

"Where did you get this?" Her voice was nasally because her nose was clogged. 

"From the street," he replied. 

She nodded, and whispered a thank you.

They left the bookstore and walked on the sidewalk slowly. The sun was starting go down, casting shadows over the street.

Draco wasn't sure what to say to her. He was afraid to open his mouth and say something wrong. He couldn't just start to be nice to her – that wasn't his style. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him softly.

"What makes you think I'm thinking anything?"

"The way you're sighing and keep running your hand through her hair," she said, glancing at him with a small smile. "Ron does it all the time when he tries to tell Mum how the empty whiskey bottle got under his bed."

Draco was torn between smiling at the image and looking horrified that he did the same actions Ron Weasley did. He settled on keeping his face unreadable.

They walked along in silence for another minute or two.

"Um, I guess I never did thank you," Ginny finally said.

"Thank me?"

"For helping me out of the car," she said. When he glanced at her he saw her staring at her shoes. "I – it means a lot to me."

"Don't expect it every day," he said gruffly, and mentally smacked himself for being so cold. He actually winced, bracing himself for another one of her tirades, but when nothing came, he looked at her to see her smiling gently.

"What should we do now?" Ginny asked after another minute or two.

"I thought you wanted to clear your name," he said.

She sighed. "I do. But I don't know _how_."

"The only way you can is to get my father to confess," said Draco. 

Ginny stopped walking and turned to him. "Why don't you just tell people that I'm innocent?"

He smirked. "Well, for one, I'm now considered just as guilty as you. Not to mention my father would deny it and people would listen to him."

"Do – d'you think you could talk him into telling the truth?" Ginny asked, almost carefully. 

"No," he said rather sharply. 

She bit her lip and nodded. "Then I will."

"Huh?"

"I will talk to him. Take me to your house and I'll try and knock some sense into him."

"He'll . . . well, let's say he's not the one who will contact the Ministry if you show up in our house."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ginny, he's a Death Eater." Draco didn't even realize he called her by her first name until after it slipped out. He ignored it and went on. "He'll have the Dark Lord himself deal with you."

Ginny appeared deep in thought. "But that would be stupid," she said at last, looking up to meet Draco's eyes. "How would he explain to the Ministry if I was found dead in his house?"

"The Dark Lord most likely won't kill you," Draco said, feeling irritated that she didn't understand. "He'll probably torture you, and _then_ my father would contact the Ministry. My father would tell them you came and he called them as soon as he saw you. And, let's face it, they'd believe him. You _are_ running from the Ministry, Weasely. It makes you look more guilty than innocent, trust me on that."

Ginny closed her eyes. "It's so complicated," she said. "I'm _never_ going to clear my name. No matter what I do I'll be captured by the Ministry and sent straight to Azkaban . . ."

Draco was afraid she'd start crying again, but she just stood there with her eyes pinched tightly for a moment. When she finally opened them, they looked a lot clearer and determined than before.

"I'll sleep on it," she resolved. "I know I'll think of something. Now, why don't you find us a room?"

He sneered and looked around the street. They were some of the last people on the sidewalk, since it was nearly dark, but cars drove by in a consistent stream. "I do believe it's your turn to find us a hotel room."

"In that case I guess we'll be sleeping in the woods. I'm sorry, Draco, I'm just not as talented as you when it comes to stealing stuff like rooms."

He stared at her, and found that she was teasing him. She wasn't smiling, but her eyes danced mischievously. He gave her a half-grin, half-smirk and said, "One of the benefits of being a Slytherin, I suppose."

"The _only_ benefit, may I add," Ginny said smugly. "And it's not a very good one, Draco."

"Since when are we on first name terms with each other, anyway?" he asked, arching one eyebrow. 

In the pale light from the street lamp overhead he saw her flush. "I just thought that if we're going to be putting up with each other we should use our first names."

She looked as if she expected him to laugh in her face, but instead he turned his lips into an amused smirk. "All right, if I call you Ginny then will you find us a room?"

"No."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine, _I'll_ do it. Come on, we have to find a hotel first."

They walked around for a couple of hours, but each hotel they found didn't have one spare room. Around midnight, when Ginny was very close to suggesting they just sleep in the woods, they found a run-down motel that had vacancy. 

The motel was so awful they were convinced no one would try and come in to the room they chose so they didn't bother to put a spell on it. There were two double beds, much to Ginny's relief, but when she took off her shoes and crawled under the covers she could smell the mildew from the pillow. The mattress was so soft she nearly sank to the floor, and the sheets scratched her skin uncomfortably. But despite all this, she fell asleep instantly.

The next morning, she woke up to her stomach rumbling. Sitting up, she saw that Draco's bed was empty and then heard the shower running in the bathroom. 

Sunlight streamed in through the dirt-caked windows, but it only revealed the filth they'd slept in. Ginny waited impatiently for Draco to come out so she could take her first shower in three days. 

Ten minutes later, he finally emerged with a towel wrapped around his waist. She felt her cheeks blush furiously as she tried to avert her eyes from his bare chest, glistening with water droplets. She could feel him smirking at her and hurried by him to get into the bathroom.

"The water isn't very stable," he said after her.

She paused in the doorway and looked back, forcing her eyes to stay on his face rather than his chest. "What?"

"It goes from freezing to burning about every two seconds," he told her. "Just warning you."

She muttered her thanks, even though as dirty was she was any sort of water would do. The bathroom was small, and the shower tub was streaked with rust. Ginny ran the water and stuck her hand under it, and found Draco was right. It went from hot to cold constantly.

Sighing, she stripped out of her filthy jumpsuit and got in. She kept jumping in and out of the stream because even though she could survive the cold, the hot was too scalding and her skin couldn't take it. 

Still, when she finally came out she felt a lot better. She put her clothes back on and hurried back into the room. Draco, fully clothed, was lying on his bed and watching the TV, smirking.

"What's so funny?" she asked, sitting on the front of his bed and turning her eyes to the screen as well. The picture was terrible – she could barely make out the faces of people.

"Nothing," he said, and when she twisted around to look at him his smirk broadened. "What, I can't smile for no reason?"

"That's not a smile," she said, turning fully so she could face him. "That's more of a grimace."

"Of course it is. It's because I'm looking at you. I often grimace when I look at you."

Ginny should've taken offense to that. She opened her mouth to snap back when she saw the look in his eyes – he was just playing with her. His eyes had never sparkled like that before, and it surprised her. Closing her mouth, she frowned, trying to think of something witty to say.

"Well," he announced, throwing his legs over the side of the bed, "I'm starving. Let's get something to eat."

They left the room (much to Ginny's relief) and searched for a restaurant. Surprisingly, they found a wizarding place where they wouldn't have to steal the food. But Ginny hesitated before they went in.

"What if someone recognizes us?" she asked, grabbing Draco's arm to keep him from going in. 

"Who cares?" Draco said irritably, jerking his arm from her grasp. "We'll just leave if someone does. I'm too hungry to worry about that now."

Ginny was starving, too, but she still felt uneasy going inside the restaurant. She felt as if every eye was on her and Draco as they seated themselves at a table in the back corner.

Fortunately, they ate their meal in peace. They each managed to polish off everything on their plates, and Ginny even snorted into her food from watching Draco eat rapidly from across the table. He glared at her for a moment, then his eyes softened and he gave her a warm smirk – if there was such a thing.

They left after paying, both stuffed and in somewhat better spirits. 

"If we start now, we might be able to get to London in a day or two," Draco announced.

"We're _walking_ the whole way?"

He gave her an icy look. "Well, we _could_ hitch another ride with a Muggle, if that's your preference."

Ginny clamped her mouth shut.

They could've followed the highways, but that would risk them being spotted. So they took longer routes through rural farming areas and the woods. Neither of them spoke. Ginny was too busy thinking. She had hoped to think about how to clear her name last night, but she'd fallen asleep before she could come up with a solution.

_If only I could convince the Ministry to give Lucius a Veritaserum and have him confess that it wasn't me who tortured him_, she thought, frowning. They were going through a forest, but she'd had her fair share of the woods and was agitated by the trees and sticks. _Then people would know I'm innocent! But the instant the Ministry gets their hands on me they'll send me to Azkaban, no hesitations. I won't even have a chance to say my idea, let alone put into action._

They took a short break mid-afternoon, then started walking again. Ginny was beginning to get hungry once more.

"How much longer until we get out of these woods?" she asked Draco, who was walking a few feet ahead and leading the way.

"Soon," he replied.

But soon came and went, and soon the sun was starting to go down. Something close to panic fluttered in Ginny's stomach and she called, "Do you know where we're going?"

"Of course," he snapped touchily. She frowned and kept following him.

The sun went down, and they had to light their wands to see where they were going. Ginny had had enough. "We're lost, aren't we, Draco? You got us lost!"

He stopped walking and turned to her, frustrated. "I'm sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "I thought I knew where we were going. If _you_ know so much, why don't _you_ lead the way?"

"Who said I knew which way to go?" she said sullenly, crossing her arms and feeling very much like a two-year-old pouting. 

"Looks like we're camping in the forest tonight," he said dryly, and started to walk again. "Let's find a clearing where we can start a fire."

"Fire? It's hotter than hell out here!"

"Yes, but fire isn't only used for warmth," he told her, in the tone of one speaking to a child. "It keeps animals away, too. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be eaten by a wolf while I'm sleeping."

They found a small clearing, so small the tops of the trees created an overhang. They both made a pile of wood, and with a wave of Draco's wand, a large fire was soon blazing.

Ginny sat down on the ground as far away from it as she could, her back against a tree. Draco sat a few feet away from her, closer to the fire, staring into it. She couldn't help but study his profile. His eyebrows were squeezed together, showing he was deep in thought. What was he thinking about?

_Why does it matter?_ she wondered. 

"Why are you staring at me?" Draco asked suddenly without turning his head.

Ginny blushed and looked away into the fire. "I wasn't staring."

He slowly turned to look at her. "Yes you were. I'm not blind, Ginny, I can see you out of the corner of my eye."

She didn't reply.

There was a long, awkward silence then. Ginny kept trying to think of things to say but nothing seemed right. _I don't need to talk to him_, she told herself. _I just don't want to sit here in silence._

"So," Draco spoke up, the first to break the quiet, "have you figured out how to clear your name yet?"

She frowned and looked at her lap. "No," she replied. "I – I honestly don't know what to do."

Draco turned his body to face her. "You somehow have to get the Ministry to believe that my father did something to the truth potion."

"He did something to it?" Ginny asked, shocked.

"Yes. I thought you knew that. He was the one who volunteered to make it, didn't you know?"

"No." But now everything made sense! Somehow Lucius had made the potion to force her to tell a lie, anything but the truth. "That wasn't a Veritaserum I drank, was it?"

"It was probably the exact opposite," Draco said. "I have reason to believe that Voldemort helped my father make the potion."

Ginny tried not to wince at the name. "How so?"

Draco sighed and stood up. He walked over and sat next to her. "The Ministry isn't stupid," he began to explain. "They know my father had ties with Voldemort in the past. They wouldn't take his word when he says, 'Here's the Veritaserum, it's perfect, you don't need to worry.' They would test it out first, wouldn't they?"

"Test it out, like, on another person?" Ginny asked. 

"Not exactly," he replied. "They have ways to make sure a potion is correctly made to do what it needs to do. Since the Ministry doesn't trust my father one hundred percent, they tested it. It must've passed the test or else they wouldn't have given it to you."

"Is it possible that maybe your father made a real Veritaserum, then switched it at the last minute with something that looked like it?" Ginny asked. "That way the Ministry would've tested it, but when they gave it to me it would be the wrong potion."

"It's possible," he relented, "but the chances are very slim. My father made the potion the very day they tested it on you. I remember – he locked himself in his room all morning and afternoon. And I remember Voldemort even went in at one time. Then, when it was time to leave, my dad came out with the Veritaserum in a jar and went straight to the Ministry. The instant we arrived they took it away, obviously to test it, and then they gave it to you."

"We?" Ginny repeated. "You were there?"

She could've sworn he looked a little embarrassed. "I wasn't there when they gave it to you," he admitted, "but I came with my father."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I was bored. There was nothing to do in my house."

"Oh," she said softly.

"Plus," he added after a moment, "I wanted to see what was going to happen. I didn't know that my father had done something to the potion for sure; I only had a hunch. But when he came out with a satisfied look on his face I knew he had changed it to make you tell the opposite of the truth."

There was another stretch of silence. Ginny found herself smiling, and looked up to see Draco staring at her.

"What's funny?"

She smiled brighter. "This is the first time we've had a conversation without insulting each other," she told him.

He grinned, too, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I could change that. I could insult you."

"No, that's all right," she said quickly. "I like it this way better."

He looked at her with such intensity her heart began to beat faster. She swallowed, trying to think of something else to say, but her mind was full of strange images of throwing herself upon him and kissing him.

_Kiss Draco Malfoy?_ she thought, mentally horrified with herself. _Since when have I wanted to kiss him?_

Then she answered her own question. _Since he saved you from Kyle._

"Draco," she said suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you rescue me from the bus?" she asked, turning and fixing her eyes on him. He stared back, his expression blank. 

"Well," he said, exhaling loudly, "why not?"

"Because you hate me," she said. "Because you hate my family and you hate my friends –"

"I don't hate _you_," he interrupted. "I didn't even know you and I never talked to you back in school. I might not have liked you, but it wasn't exactly hate."

That surprised her. She had always thought he loathed her just because she was a Weasley.

"Well, you know me now," she pointed out. "So do you like me?"

He stared back at her blankly. "What's with all the questions?" he said.

"Just curious," she replied, shrugging.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"I'm not a cat."

"Really? I didn't know that," he said sarcastically.

Ginny glared. "That was so childish, Malfoy."

"Oh, now we're back calling each other by our last names?"

"I can call you whatever I want."

"Quite true. But let's see how long you live if you call me anything but Draco or Malfoy."

"You wouldn't kill me."

"Wouldn't I?"

"Why would you have saved me just to kill me?"

"Why should someone else get the pleasure? I saved you so I could kill you myself."

He was grinning mirthlessly at her, and he was rapidly getting on her last nerve. "So much for the normal conversation," she muttered, narrowing her eyes.

"You started it."

"I did not! I asked you a question and _you_ started to get all offensive with _me_," she accused.

He just smirked and got to his feet. She watched him walk around to the other side of the fire, then scrambled up after him. "I'm not done yet," she said, stepping beside him. 

"Not done with what?" Draco was sneering down at her, his arms crossed.

"Asking you questions. What do you think of me now?"

His lips tightened. "What does it matter?"

_Yes, what does it matter?_ her mind screamed at her, but she ignored it. "It matters," she said simply.

"All right," he said, his eyes malicious. "If you really want to know I'll tell you. I think you're a brat. I think your hair is too red, your eyes too wide, your skin too pale, and I think you're too tall. I think that your brothers are nitwits and your parents need to get real jobs to support you." He wanted to go on, but the look on her face stopped him. _Draco, why can't you just keep your mouth shut?_ he yelled at himself. Ginny looked between ready to burst into tears and ready to tear his head off. He sighed and uncrossed his arms. "I think," he went on softly, "that my father is an idiot to have accused you of using the Cruciatus Curse on him and the Ministry even more of an idiot for believing him."

Slowly, the murderous look faded from her face and was replaced by gentle surprise. Involuntarily she took a step closer to him. "Really?" she whispered.

He stared at her face. The light from the fire danced on her skin and glistened in the corner of her dark eyes. How could he have said those things when she was clearly the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen? It didn't even seem to matter anymore that she was a Weasley. His lips tingled to touch hers, and suddenly he found himself lowering his head down.

Ginny watched his eyes close as he leaned down to kiss her, and she found herself too shocked to even close her own. But the instant their mouths touched she was able to move, and pressed herself into the kiss, her eyelids sliding shut. She hadn't imagined kissing him would feel so good, that the feel of his body against hers would give her such sensations. His hands went to her waist and pulled her closer until every part of their bodies were touching. 

The effect he had on her was dizzying. She gripped a handful of his robes to keep herself balanced, hoping she wouldn't faint dead away. She did not want the kiss to ever end. Every nerve was on fire, aware of each caress of his hands, each brush of his fingers. 

Ginny had been kissed before, but never like this. She'd wanted a guy before but never so badly. Even the fact that he was Draco Malfoy made it seem better, more challenging. 

Her heart began to pound as the kiss got deeper, and his lips began to demand more of hers. She felt his hands everywhere, but she didn't care. It all felt so right . . .

And then his lips were off hers, and she nearly whimpered out loud in disappointment. She opened her eyes to stare into his, and saw a look of such gentleness it warmed her heart. Draco Malfoy was being gentle – and he was being gentle to _her_.

"We should get some sleep," he said huskily, and dropped his hands from her back. He turned and walked around to the other side of the fire.

Ginny watched him, suddenly feeling cold. What was _that_ about?

Suddenly, the sound of leaves crunching under feet was heard. Ginny jerked around to face where it was coming from, and gasped as someone stepped into the clearing rather warily. 

"_Harry_?" Ginny cried.

A/N: Hee hee, I guess you'll just have to wait and find out what Harry is doing there! Oh, and don't worry, it has nothing to do with Ginny and Draco's kiss.

Thanks to: **Luinthoron, Stega Brava **(Kyle is a dick, isn't he? Lol), **Korinna Myorin, summer_thyme **(when are you going to update your webpage? Not to pressure you or anything . . .), **MG, Blythe **(there is still more D/G action yet to come), **Angel St. James, Sarah Black, Aamandyiah, Melissa Belial Riddle, Myanda, Archer **(I WANT MORE CATENATUS!! THAT SUCKS THE STUPID DISKS WERE RETARDED AND DON'T WORK!! Sorry, just a little mad but it's not your fault :P), **Zoemma **(I think I'm working on too _many_ stories), **PunkDragon (**I'm a big D/G shipper, what can I say? ::grins::) ***~*Eiez*~***,** pyrobunnie, DarkKnight **(thanks for all the loooong reviews!!), **w&m_law, Hermione M. Granger **(NOW they've kissed! You have to time this stuff right, they just can't start snogging each other for no reason!), **Nemesis **(don't you mean the best story you've ever read? Lol), **Flaming Ashes **(thanks!), **Grey, Amanda Mancini, LilAyl, ShadowKitten **(I hope you know that your review was empty . . . did you mean to do that just to put my story on your favorites? I don't mind, that's find with me :^P), **Kel, Dreamer Girl, **and **Nice.**

Whew! I haven't done thank yous for a while and that's one BIG paragraph. Anyway, those of you who haven't, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!


	9. Partners

Disclaimer: JK Rowling

Chapter Nine – Partners 

_ _

Draco went around to the other side of the fire, cursing himself inside his head. How could he have allowed himself to kiss her? Never, not once, did it occur that he would be having feelings for Ginny Weasley when he pulled her from the water those few days ago. Had it really only been days? It seemed like years.

He could feel her staring at him, and knew she was surprised and maybe even hurt that he'd suddenly pulled away. But she didn't understand – if he hadn't stopped, he would've never been able to let her go. The thought scared him; the thought of knowing he wanted her so badly. 

He was just about to sit down to try and make some sort of sleeping area when he heard Ginny gasp.

"_Harry_?" she cried rather shrilly.

Draco whirled around. Through the smoke of the fire, he saw another person stepping into the clearing. Sure enough, it was Harry Potter. He smiled nervously at them.

"How – how long have you been here?" Ginny stuttered. 

_Of course, she's afraid her grand and wonderful Potter will hate her for kissing me_, Draco thought, sneering. He returned to Ginny's side of the fire so he could see Harry clearly.

"I just arrived," Harry answered rather breezily. "I saw you two in the restaurant back in town, eating breakfast. So I followed you."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ginny asked, nearly sagging with relief. She strode up to him and gave him a hard hug, which he returned briefly before taking a step back from her. She noticed his uneasiness, but she didn't say anything. Frowning, she, too, moved back until she was once again beside Draco.

"Why are you here, Potter?" Draco demanded. "Just waiting to turn us in yourself?"

"Harry wouldn't turn us in," Ginny said, coming to his defense. "Right?" she added, shooting a pleading glance at him.

While her whole family had either ignored her, given her pitying looks or glares, or just yelled at her, Harry had never really done anything to lead her to believe he thought she had used the Creciatus Curse. Whenever she caught his eye, he would flash her a quick reassuring smile and look away. She hadn't ever gotten the chance to talk to him privately, but she always thought he was the one person (other than the Malfoys) who thought she was innocent. That assurance had kept her from going crazy before she even reached Azkaban.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, which, as always, was already standing on end. "How are you, Ginny?" he asked abruptly, changing the subject drastically.

Ginny blinked. "I've been better, Harry," she said softly.

He nodded and gave her a small smile – a smile that was hard to read. "I know. You've been through a lot, haven't you? First the bus sinks, then the car accident . . . and to top it off, you've been running from the Ministry."

"Harry – I don't have any choice," she protested, wishing she didn't sound so weak. "I'm innocent and I need to prove it."

"Running makes you look guilty," he whispered, all traces of smiles gone from his face. But his eyes were sympathetic. He had yet to glance at Draco. "You should've just turned yourself in –"

"Listen, Potter, she doesn't need you to lecture her," Draco cut in. "She knows what she's doing, okay?"

Ginny nearly smiled, feeling warm inside. Draco Malfoy was standing up for her. Harry's eyes finally flickered over the other boy, and he looked rather ill in his company. 

There was a long stretch of silence then, and Ginny shifted her weight from one foot to another awkwardly. Draco was the only one who did not seem embarrassed at the quiet. When she glanced at him, he appeared to be deep in thought, staring coldly at Harry.

"Are you going to stay?" Ginny asked at last.

"Stay?" Harry blinked, confused.

"You'd better leave before someone thinks that you've been helping us," she elaborated.

"Uh . . ." He looked down and scratched the back of his head. "I don't really think –"

And suddenly, the forest was alive with sound. The noise of many feet crunching over leaves, the swooshing of people gliding through the air, the voices of a group of people – all reached her ears at the same time. She instinctively took a step closer to Draco, pressing her shoulder against his. Her head was twisting in every direction, trying to locate who was coming and from where.

Over a dozen people stepped through the trees. From above another dozen swooped down and landed, getting of their brooms. Ginny felt as if her feet were planted to the ground, and when she finally was able to recover, it was too late. Someone grabbed her roughly and jerked her away from Draco.

Everything from then happened in a large blur. The faces of the people – obviously from the Ministry – swam before her as she felt hands patting her down, locating her wand. Someone else was using magic to bind her wrists tightly together behind her back. She tried to look for Draco, or even Harry, but tall men surrounded her and she could not see beyond them.

Finally, all the commotion stopped. One grabbed her by the upper arms and pressed her back against them, making sure she could not wiggle her way out of his iron grip. She didn't try – her mind was too stunned to even think straight, much less plot an escape. 

Her eyes searched frantically for Draco, and she finally found him. He had his back to her, and was talking with someone just a big taller than him but with his identical silver hair.

He was talking to his father.

The instant Ginny seemed to be snatched from he side, a hand gripped one of his arms and pulled him not so gently to the side of it all. Draco was surprised to see it was his father. He turned his head to see what had happened to Ginny, but a solid wall of men blocked her from his view. He forced himself to focus on Lucius.

"What are you doing here?" Draco managed to ask, unable to keep the surprise from his tone.

Lucius grinned wickedly. "Have you not been keeping up with current times, Draco?" he asked rather pleasantly. "The day after the Weasley girl escaped Cornelius Fudge was fired. That's _two_ people who have escaped Azkaban custody with him as Minister and people were _not_ happy."

Draco stared dumbly. He had heard what his father had told him, but half of his brain was too busy worrying about Ginny. What were they going to do to her? Send her to Azkaban? Or would they give her a Dementor's Kiss for running so long?

"You are daft, boy," Lucius snapped. "_I'm_ the new Minister of Magic. The rest of the Ministry voted for me."

"Voted for you?" Draco repeated, a sneer starting to creep across his face. "You probably threatened to kill their families if they _didn't_ vote for you."

Lucius did not look upset. He actually smiled. "And it worked, did it not?"

"So you've been the new Minister for the past couple of days," Draco stated. "And you couldn't catch us, could you?"

_That_ caused the smile to drop off his father's face. "I should skin you alive for running with that Weasley," he snarled, his lip curling, giving him the look of actually baring his teeth. "And your punishment will come soon enough. But first she needs to be dealt with."

Draco sensed the conversation was over, but quickly added in, "What are you going to do to her?"

His eyes, which were startlingly similar to Draco's, glinted cruelly. "Nothing usual," he said rather silkily. "All the usual punishments are far too gentle. I'll need to think a bit on it."

Draco wasn't sure why it felt as if his heart was in his throat. It didn't matter to _him_ what happened to Ginny . . . _Why am I even denying it anymore?_ he thought viciously. _Of course it matters. God, I can't believe it, I'm concerned for her. I don't want my father to hurt her._

He remembered far too vividly the punishment he'd received in his lifetime from Lucius. The things he'd been through made a Dementor's Kiss seem like heaven. And whatever Ginny got would be twice as worse as whatever Draco had endured.

Lucius stepped by his son. Draco turned and was finally able to see Ginny, who was gripped by the upper arms by a man who looked two times Draco's height _and_ width. Draco's fingers itched to rip her away from the man and beat him unconscious for holding her against him in such a manner, but he knew _he_ would be the one beaten senseless if he attempted it. 

As Lucius approached Ginny, her chin quivered slightly in fear. But her eyes were bright and determined, and she did not look down when he met her gaze.

"Did you think you could run forever?" Lucius asked quietly. "I had the _Muggles_ after you, girl. There was no way you could've escaped."

She did not reply.

"I had thought," Lucius went on, his voice still low but dangerous, "that sending you to Azkaban was too soft a penalty. But it was not within my power to decide. Fortunately, now it is. When I'm through with you you'll be _begging_ for death."

Draco bit his lip to keep from arguing. Even the Minister of Magic couldn't torture somebody, not to mention that Ginny's family would probably kill Lucius if they ever tried to hurt their precious youngest sister and child. If his father tried to do such a thing, he would surely be kicked out of the Minister position, no matter how many people he threatened. 

"You have guts," Lucius continued, "I'll give you that much. But you would've never gotten so far if not for my son."

Draco forced his face to remain blank.

"I am afraid I will never understand why he did what he did, but I won't worry about that now. I'm more concerned about _your_ future, girl. The rather short future you have. Potter, would you be so kind as to come here?"

Draco had forgotten all about Harry, who had not moved from the edge of the clearing. He looked down, ducking his face, but slowly walked towards Lucius. When Draco caught the expression on Ginny's face, he had never hated Harry so much. It was because of him her eyes were so wide and sad, her expression so hurt and betrayed. If only he would look up he would see what he'd done and how Ginny would never trust him again. 

"Potter volunteered to help find you," Lucius said, almost proudly, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder. 

Harry finally looked up and saw Ginny's expression. "I'm so sorry, Ginny," he burst out, rushing to explain. "I – I was worried about you and so was your family and no one knew where you were . . . you should've just accepted your sentence at Azkaban, it would've made things so much easier –"

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Ginny exploded. "You _know_ I didn't! I would never, ever use the Creciatus Curse no matter how badly I hated someone . . . you know that, Harry! I thought you were the _one_ person who would believe me . . ."

She trailed off, lowering her head so her hair fell around her face like a curtain. Draco didn't hear anything, but he could see her shoulders trembling as she cried silently. It took all his strength to stay where he was and not rush to hold her and try to stop her from crying. The urge was so terrible it was like a knife driving into his heart as he stood there, unable to do anything.

_How did I come to care so much?_ he wondered, getting angry with himself. _I've never cared about anyone in my entire life before._

Harry, too, looked broken as he stared helplessly at Ginny's shaking form. Draco knew he was regretting what he'd done, but it was too late. He'd been an idiot and actually trusted Draco's father. 

"Take her to London," Lucius ordered. "Allow her parents _one_ visit, that's it. No one else is to see her."

Flanked with about six other people, the man holding Ginny turned and left the clearing. Ginny lifted her head, tossing her hair out of her eyes and revealing her tear-streaked cheeks, and walked with solid steps. Draco couldn't help but watch her – she was definitely one of the strongest girls he'd ever met. 

The rest of the men left on brooms, leaving Draco, his father, and Harry in the clearing alone.

"I brought your broom," Lucius said to Draco, pointing to an extra broom leaning against a tree. "I will see you at home."

Then he turned and went after those who had left on foot.

Harry remained where he was, watching as Draco snatched the broom away from the tree. As he straddled it and was ready to take off Harry said, "Malfoy, wait."

Draco turned his head, keeping his face unreadable. "What is it, Potter?" he drawled.

"Why – why have you been running with Ginny these past few days?" he asked, looking anxious.

Draco sighed, and turned his body fully. "I don't have any reason to tell you," he snapped. "Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does," Harry said, frowning. "You haven't hurt her in any way, have you? Because if you did I swear –"

"My, my, Potter, aren't we the hypocrite?" Draco interrupted, sneering. "_I_ haven't hurt Ginny but it is clear that you hurt her more than even you realize."

Harry swallowed, lowering his eyes. "I did what I thought was best," he whispered. 

"And siding with my father is best?" Draco demanded, arching one eyebrow. "Potter, you know that he's a Death Eater and that he hates the Weasleys. Why the hell would he want to find Ginny to just do something _good_ for her?"

Harry jerked his head up. "You are the reason I agreed to help find her in the first place!" he said hotly. "You aren't exactly the nicest person, either, Malfoy. I was scared for her, being alone with you . . . that's the only reason I sided with your father."

"My father was always on the wrong side," Draco said carelessly. "He's convinced people that Ginny used an Unforgivable Curse so much that he's beginning to believe it himself. I had always thought you knew that she was innocent."

"I did," Harry said softly. "But then she ran and it only made her look guilty, and for the life of me I couldn't explain how she could've lied through the Veritaserum –"

Draco's eyes flashed. "Did it ever occur to you, Potter, that even the innocent run? Why would you want to be put in Azkaban for something you didn't do? Of course you'd run. Running from the Ministry shouldn't mean anything. Everyone, even the guilty, would've run if they'd escaped."

Harry did not reply. It was clear he hadn't thought too much about it.

"If I were you," Draco said, "and thank God I'm not, then I'd try and find everything in my power to get Ginny free again."

"Why don't you?" Harry demanded quickly. "You're obviously comfortable enough with her to call her by her first name. If you help me it will be a lot easier –"

"I'm already dead as it is," Draco said. "I would like a day long torture session before I die as opposed to a week long session. So thank you for the invitation, but I'll have to pass."

"Damn it, Malfoy, I made a mistake," Harry snapped. "You're right – I have to get her away from the Ministry. But there is no way in hell I can do it without your help. I don't care if you hate me –"

"I do."

" – just do this for Ginny. You heard your father. He's going to do something terrible to her before he'll allow her to die. And from the way you were kissing her when I came earlier shows that you care for her a lot more then you want to let on."

Draco wasn't sure what to say to that. He swallowed, and asked, "What makes you think that I can help you?"

"Your father's the Minister," Harry replied, starting to sound a bit hopeful. "You can find out where she is being held, and how to get her out. Listen, Malfoy, I know that we're not friends and we never will be, but right now this isn't about us. It's about Ginny."

Draco stared. _I can't believe this. Potter is pleading with me to do something for him. God knows I want to help Ginny and I certainly could use the help. But with Potter? I hate him and he hates me. This will never work._

__He sighed. "When this is all over I'm never speaking to you again," he said at last.

A grin spread over Harry's face. "Is that a yes?"

A/N: Another cliffhanger, I know. Well, thanks to those who reviewed but I don't have time to list them all out (next chapter ;P). So review anyway!!!! Thanks !!


	10. Nowhere To Run

Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: JK Rowling A/N: I'm sorry this took me so long to get out. I guess it was because I was both lazy and busy at the same time 8P. In other words, when I had time to write I didn't make good use of my time. But I finally got this typed, so here's chapter ten.  Chapter Ten _Nowhere To Run _

**_ _**

Harry flew a good distance behind Draco on his own broom, deep in thought. He kept replaying the previous scene with Ginny in his head. What was _wrong_ with him? As if helping Lucius Malfoy wasn't enough, he'd stood by and watched as they took her away. He could've done something – _anything_ – to stop them.

When he'd first heard that the bus Ginny was on had crashed into the ocean and there were no survivors, he'd felt terrible. He couldn't bring himself to visit the Weasleys, but he could only imagine their despair. He had been angry and upset and he wasn't even related to her.

But then he'd heard that she was still alive. So he'd gone straight to the Burrow, slightly guilty that he hadn't been with them when they'd been mourning Ginny's "death." They had all turned to Harry for help, since he worked for the Ministry as an Auror. Harry would never forget the look on Mrs. Weasley's face when she took one of his hands in between hers and stared him directly in the eye.

"Find her, Harry," she had said somberly, her face a pasty white, but her eyes determined. "Do anything you can to bring my baby back to me."

How could Harry have said no? Deep inside, he felt that he wouldn't be able to bring her back to her family, considering she'd just go right back to Azkaban as soon as the Ministry got a hold of her. He'd just jumped to the conclusion immediately that she was running from her guilt as soon as he'd heard she'd survived the bus crash.

But why had he? His godfather, Sirius Black, whose name had been cleared the year Harry had graduated, had been innocent and had run from the Ministry. For some reason, he thought it was different, considering that Sirius had been in jail for twelve years and knew what it was like.

Now, Harry cursed himself inside his head. _When Sirius first escaped, I thought he was guilty. And he turned out to be innocent. I didn't even know him very well and I assumed he deserved to be in Azkaban._

_But I know Ginny. And I should've known that she was innocent the whole time. _

He'd just been so desperate to help the Weasleys, who'd always been kind and helped him when he was younger, that he'd convinced himself that Ginny was guilty. Maybe subconsciously he'd thought it would be too painful to watch the Ministry put Ginny behind bars, and thought maybe if she was guilty then it would make it easier.

Not to mention that she was with Draco Malfoy. That was what worried him the most. He wasn't sure why – just because Draco was a terrible person didn't exactly mean he'd hurt Ginny. But somehow he just didn't feel comfortable with the fact that she was running with him. It didn't feel right. It was what scared him most about Ginny being on the run.

__So he'd been incredibly stupid. He hadn't really thought it out. He'd just reacted, and Lucius Malfoy was the only person who he thought could help him. 

_I was afraid for Ginny because she was with Malfoy, so I go and form an alliance with his father? Oh, that makes sense, doesn't it? God, I'm a prat._

__Harry frowned deeply and put more speed on his Firebolt. The sooner he got Ginny out of Lucius's grasp, the better he'd feel.

*** 

Ginny was obviously walking too slowly for the men holding on to her. She stood between two of them, each holding on to her upper arm. They were constantly yanking her forward, or lifting her a few inches off the ground and dropping her back between them so that she wouldn't fall behind. Ginny put up no resistance – she allowed them to drag her wherever they wanted.

_I've got to escape_, she thought desperately. _I'm not going to let Lucius Malfoy take me back to his house and torture me. I'd rather live my life on the run than return with him._

She found herself wishing Draco was near her. The longing didn't surprise her. She felt safe around Draco, despite how he treated her, and felt that maybe if he was nearby it would make things easier. Draco wouldn't stand by and let Lucius hurt her.

_At least, I don't think he would._

It was pitch dark out. The thick leaves overhead blocked the night sky. Ginny was having trouble seeing which direction they were going, and was slightly afraid that her toe would catch under a log and she'd sprawl flat on her face. While she was having this fear, the exact thing happened – only it happened to the person walking in front of her.

Lucius suddenly cried out and fell forward, dropping onto his hands and knees.

This caused the other dozen men, including Ginny's bodyguards, to halt behind him.

Ginny tried to suppress a giggle. _Draco Malfoy does not fall_, she thought with amusement, _but Lucius Malfoy does._

"Help me up, you idiots!" Lucius commanded, sounding annoyed and slightly embarrassed. 

About half of the men rushed to his side. This included the guy holding Ginny's right arm.

The other relaxed his grip slightly, as if unsure to let go of her, too, and help or to just stay put.

_This is my chance_, Ginny thought. And she tore her arm from the man's grasp. Spinning on her heels, she turned and bolted in the direction they had come.

"FOOLS!" Lucius Malfoy screamed.

Ginny ran as fast as she'd ever run in her life. She jumped over rocks and small bushes and dodged trees. She could hear the footsteps of pursuers behind her, lumbering not too far behind. Her breath started to come out louder and in gasps as she pushed herself to go even faster.

_Please don't let me fall_, she prayed silently. _They'll catch me if I do . . . please don't let me trip . . ._

She had no idea where she was going. For all she knew she could be going deeper and deeper into the woods, away from civilization. And the one thing she needed at the moment was a busy, crowded place.

_It's the middle of the night_, she thought. _Nothing will be busy._

Still, a building to hide in would be pretty useful right about then.

She could hear their voices, but the pounding of her feet and her quick breathing blocked out the words they were saying. Branches whipped at her face, tore at her jumpsuit, scratched her skin, but she ignored it and kept running as fast as she could.

_I don't know how long I can keep this up_, she thought desperately. She couldn't sprint forever. Already she was starting to get tired and slowing a little and she'd only been going for less than a minute. 

She'd need to hide. _No, that won't work_, she told herself quickly. _They'll be looking everywhere for me! Lucius won't give up until I'm found. If I stop and hide in these woods I'll be caught for sure._

Ginny's hard, raspy breathing turned into short, frantic sobs. What was she thinking, trying to get away? She couldn't do it . . . there were so many of them, only one of her . . . and Draco wasn't there to help her.

But she kept going. _I managed to keep away from the Ministry for a few days, didn't I? I can run away from them again._

She tried to ignore the fact that she hadn't exactly been by herself those few days. 

_Here I go again, acting all helpless_. _I don't need Draco to help me with everything. I can do some things myself._

Suddenly, her foot caught on something and she toppled over instantly, falling so quickly that by the time she had her hands out to soften her fall she had already hit the ground. Fortunately, there were leaves that covered the ground, and it cushioned it somewhat, but she still got the breath knocked out of her. For a moment she lay still, trying to stop panting. Then she sucked in her breath and held it, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. She struggled to listen to what was going on around her.

Yes, they were definitely still nearby. She could hear them rushing through the trees and crunching over the leaves as they ran, desperate to find her. They were talking to each other, telling one another where to go. When she lifted her head, she saw the light from their wands through the trees. Soon they would come to where she was laying and they'd see her. But if she jumped up and ran, then they'd spot her, too. 

She let out her breath loudly, and continued to inhale and exhale noisily. Her palms were flat on the ground, ready to push her back up into a standing position when she needed to. The problem was she didn't know what to do.

Frightened tears ran down her cheeks, and her nose was running. _Oh, God, what am I going to do now? Should I just wait to be found? They're only seconds away . . ._

She looked around quickly for a place to hide, only until they passed by and she could turn and run in the other direction. Their voices rang louder in her ears, along with her pounding heart and hoarse crying, and she just reacted. She rolled under a long, narrow bush about a meter away and pressed herself flat against the ground. The thick, tiny leaves and scraping twigs kept her covered enough so that they wouldn't notice her. Unless someone decided to look down and see her leg sticking out . . .

Her nose inches from the dirt, she tried to control her sobbing. _Calm down, Ginny_, she instructed as smoothly as she could. _It'll be all right._

It barely helped.

And then the men were running past the bush, their tones loud and their boots falling heavily on the ground. The wandlight lit up a good distance, and she was terrified they would happen to see her without even having to look down. Ginny held her breath once again and squeezed her eyes shut, gripping two handfuls of dirt, getting it up her fingernails and not even noticing, and gritting her teeth, trying to keep herself from letting out whimpers. _Please just keep going_, she prayed. _Just go. _

Slowly, so slowly Ginny could barely stand it, their voices faded. They didn't go away altogether, but they seemed to be far enough away for her to lift her head, open her eyes and relax her grip.

The light was gone. She was drenched in darkness once more.

She let out a relieved sob, and let her head drop back to the ground.

_I want to go home. I don't want to run anymore. _She wasn't sure if she could handle another chase.

All she wanted to do was lay there forever, fall asleep and never wake up. Or perhaps wake up and find it was all a bad dream, that she wasn't a convicted felon and she wasn't going to be tortured by Lucius Malfoy. That she'd never had to fight her way to stay free with Draco, and that she'd never allowed herself to become so attached to him.

The one thing she didn't want to be a dream was kissing him.

She closed her eyes, her wet cheek against the dry dirt, and remembered the feel of his lips on hers. In the back of her mind she knew she should be getting up and running away, not fantasizing about some kiss.

_Some totally amazing kiss_, she added.

No matter what she tried to tell herself, she really wanted Draco back with her. He gave her a sense of security she'd never really felt with anyone else, not even her brothers. Maybe because there was always the possibility that Draco would suddenly kiss her while he was rescuing her, while her brothers would probably just manage to get revenge by putting ink in her tea for getting into such trouble in which she needed to be saved from.

_All right, Ginny, time to get up_, she ordered. 

She somehow managed to get out from under the bush without getting her jumpsuit too torn up, or her hair too tangled, and pushed herself to her feet. Her legs were wobbly, and every other part of her ached with exhaustion. But she still had to run – quickly – out of the woods before she was found.

Wiping the dirt off her cheek, she glanced in the direction the men had gone. She could see some light through the thick trees, and she could hear their muffled voices, but they seemed a good distance away. It was now or never.

Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. Then she turned and started to half-jog, half-run and tried to forget all that had happened to her.

*** 

"Which building is it?" Harry called, pulling his broom up next to Draco's in the air.

"What?" Draco asked lazily, not bothering to turn his head.

"Where they're taking Ginny. What building in London is it?"

That caused Draco to look at him, his steel eyes unfathomable. "I don't know. You work for the Ministry – don't you?"

Harry glowered. "There are a lot of buildings the Ministry use. How the hell am I supposed to know which one?"

Draco stopped and hovered in the air, causing Harry to stop as well. "Great. Wonderful. So we don't even know where she is. Why didn't you wait until we got to London to tell me this?" he demanded sarcastically.

"So what are we going to do?"

Draco sighed irritably. "We've only been flying for about a half hour. We'll have to turn around and find my father again and follow him from the air. That's all we can do."

Harry bit his lower lip and nodded. "All right."

They turned and started to fly in the direction they had come.

*** 

After a few minutes of trying to run, Ginny started to stumble through the woods. She wasn't sure how she managed to keep going, but somehow she found the strength to keep going. She began to think of people running through the desert, without water, the sun beating down on their backs, and then they finally collapse. That was exactly how she felt, only there was no sun, no sand, and if she really wanted water she could get it.

And then, she saw the trees were starting to get thin out. She increased her speed slightly, rubbing her face in her hands in attempt to keep her alert. 

She finally came out of the woods. 

Stumbling a little, she came to the edge of an empty parking lot. It was a grocery store and it was closed, obviously, considering it was still the middle of the night. No traffic went by, and everything was deathly quiet. 

Ginny was about to sit down on the curb when she suddenly heard a loud snapping noise behind her. She whipped her head around back at the woods, and caught the dark form of somebody just in time. They had accidentally stepped on a twig.

Lucius and his men had been following her the whole time! Peering closer, she could see the bulky outlines of the others trying to hide behind trees. Her breath caught in her throat, and she started to take small steps backwards, terrified. _They're going to get me . . . they'll kill me, Lucius'll be mad that I tried to run again . . ._

Without warning, she came to the curb. Since she'd been walking backwards, she hadn't seen it and she missed the step, loosing her balance. She fell hard on to her bottom in the parking lot, biting her lip in attempt to keep from crying out.

"_Get her_!" Lucius's voice suddenly shrieked.

They all came out from their pathetic hiding places, advancing on her. Without having time to think, Ginny jumped to her feet and started running. She sprinted, using whatever energy she had left in her, and headed towards the grocery store.

She screwed up her face, waiting for them to start shooting curses at her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw them still standing at the edge of the lot, pulling out their wands.

She didn't stop.

"No!" Lucius screamed. "No magic! I don't want you to damage her! She's only a girl – you can just _grab_ her! Put your wands away and run after her, you idiots!"

Ginny felt slightly relieved. Now all she had to do was manage to outrun them. _Yeah, that'll be easy, being exhausted and all._

They had longer legs than her and were quickly advancing on her. Ginny reached the sliding glass doors of the grocery store and pushed on them. They didn't budge. Of course, they were locked.

She tried pounding on it with her fists, but that would get her nowhere. And the half dozen men were seconds away from grabbing her and handing her back to Lucius.

_I won't let them get me_, she vowed, too scared to even cry. _I'll die trying to escape._

She looked around frantically for a weapon. There was nothing . . . nothing . . . they were going to get her – 

Her eyes rested on a line of metal shopping carts an arm's length away. _Bingo_, she thought, grabbing the handlebars of the first one. Then, she swung it around to face the bulky men running towards her.

With all her might she shoved the shopping cart towards the mob of them. _They're not too bright, are they? They should spread out if they hope to catch me._

Since they were only feet away, the cart didn't have very far to travel. It hit the first few of them, slowing them down. But it wouldn't stop them.

Her heart in her throat, Ginny hurriedly grabbed another shopping cart. This time she turned towards the glass doors of the store. Without letting go of it, she rammed it into the doors. The glass shattered. She rammed it one more time just to be sure and then pushed the cart to the side, out of her way.

She started to step through the doorway when someone grabbed the back of her jumpsuit.

She let out a loud shriek and twisted around, fighting to get free. Her foot slid on a piece of glass, and, for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night, fell on her back on the ground. The good thing of this accident was that whoever had grabbed her lost their grip. The bad thing was she landed on a bed of glass.

Fortunately, it didn't feel as if anything had pierced her too badly. Using her feet, she pushed herself along the ground away from the doorway. They were all hurrying to get in, and two of them couldn't fit in at the same time. That gave her time to get away from the doorway.

When she was a good distance away, she scrambled to her feet. She hurried down an aisle, glad that it was dark inside. For a moment, she paused, reaching behind to feel her back. Her jumpsuit was cut in many places, and she could feel a couple of slashes on her skin, but nothing too terrible. All the glass had fallen out and that was good, but blood dribbled out of her wounds down her back. 

_Fix it later. You've got to find a way out of here and loose these baboons. _

__She could hear the pounding of boots on the tile, and could hear Lucuis's voice commanding them where to go. Ginny hurriedly looked for a place to go, another exit in which she could leave. But she saw nothing in the dim light – only the shelves of food that surrounded her.

Fear, panic, and hysteria were beginning to mix, and she wasn't sure if she could handle it. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, so hard she felt blood drip off her chin. She hadn't even felt the pain. Her whole body was numb. Even her mind was having trouble functioning.

She somehow starting walking towards the end of the aisle, her ears perked up to listen for the sound of approaching footsteps. So far they were still searching the area to her right, about two aisles away if she was hearing correctly. 

_Think_, she commanded herself, trying to get her brain working again. _Figure something out, Ginny. You can't stand here!_

She leaned her back against the shelf and closed her eyes. Tears leaked from the closed lids, and she couldn't think of anything else. Her mind went blank, and she felt nothing, thought of nothing.

She slid down to the floor, bringing her knees up to her chin. She hugged her legs for comfort, but none came. 

Then one thought flashed across her mind. 

_I wish Draco were here._

*** 

"Do you see that?" Harry asked suddenly.

Draco could see the woods up ahead, and was too busy concentrating on it to listen to Harry or look where he was pointing. 

"Isn't that them?" said Harry a little louder, annoyed at being ignored.

He looked down. It was an empty parking lot with a store – except near the store the lot wasn't so empty. There were about half a dozen people trying to get in through the doorway. They were only flying a bit higher than the building, so Draco could see that the doors had once been glass and were smashed in.

Harry was right. It _was_ them. Draco could see his father, standing behind everyone who was trying to get in, his arms waving frantically. 

Draco hovered above the scene, trying to figure out what was going on. As the men clad in black finally managed to file in, followed by Lucius, Draco began to slowly smile.

_It's Ginny_, he realized. _She got away from them. All on her own. And they're trying to get her back._

Draco shared his idea with Harry, who quickly became concerned.

"Then we have to go in there and stop them," Harry said. "Come on, they'll probably listen to you better, Malfoy –"

"No," Draco said sharply, holding his hand out to stop Harry from diving down. "We don't want them to know that we're here. Come on, we'll go in through the back and see if we can find Ginny before them."

A minute later, they landed behind the grocery store. Draco searched the length and found an employee entrance. "_Alohomora_," he hissed, and the door sprung open.

Harry started to rush by Draco to get in, but he grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. "Don't let them see you," Draco snapped warningly. "If you do then my father will kill you. Do you understand? Look for Ginny and then bring her right back out here and fly her home right away. If I get to her first, come back out here in five minutes. We'll have to have found her by then. If my broom is gone, then you leave, too."

"What if they get her first?" Harry demanded.

"Meet me here anyway. We'll figure out a plan to get her back then. Got it?"

Harry nodded. Draco released his shoulder and allowed him to go in first. Then he followed him in. He watched Harry turn to the right, away from where Lucius's men were searching, and disappear down the furthest aisle.

Draco's eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness of the store. He decided to pick the aisle next to the last one where everyone else was searching. That way he would find her before they did. From their conversations he could hear, they obviously hadn't found her yet.

Draco looked down the aisle and saw nothing. He quickly looked in the next one.

And saw a small form curled on the floor, back against the shelves. It was Ginny.

Draco reached her in three strides. She was hugging her knees to her chest, her face down and her wild hair spreading over her shoulders. She hadn't heard or seen him approach.

"Ginny," he whispered urgently, his voice hard. "Come on, Ginny, stand up."

He leaned over and grabbed her upper arm as she slowly raised her head to him. As he pulled her to her feet, her eyes stayed on his face. They looked slightly amazed to see him, but her features reflected how hopeless she felt, how broken up she was. Draco felt all his hard feelings wash away as he looked at her, and she stared back. He held both her arms, her body only inches from his.

Carefully, she reached a hand up to touch him. Her fingertips brushed his cheek.

"_Draco_." It wasn't much more than a sigh.

And then their lips were pressed together, and what space that had been between them disappeared. She tasted coppery, like blood, but Draco didn't care. She didn't seem to mind, either, because she kissed him hard. She clung to him like he was her lifesaver in the ocean of turmoil she'd been drowning in for the past few months. Draco felt in a way he was comforting her, something he'd wanted to do ever since he'd saved her from Kyle. She needed him – for the first time in his life, someone needed _him_ – and he was happy to give himself to her.

They kissed for what seemed like hours, but it had to have been less than a minute. The danger they were in melted from their minds and all that seemed to matter was them. 

When Ginny finally pulled her mouth away, she still kept her arms around his neck, keeping herself plastered against him. He didn't loosen his grip on her waist – in fact, he tightened it.

And then she was smiling. It was very faint, but it was there nonetheless. Her dark eyes showed how relieved she was to see him, but he still saw how terrified she was.

"Don't ever leave me again," she ordered. And he could see, even in the pale light, the adorable blush that spread across her cheeks and neck. 

A/N: Yes, yet ANOTHER cliffie. Because we all know that just because Draco's there doesn't mean they'll be able to get out easily, though I wish it were all that simple. Anyway, time for thank yous. 

**w&m_law** (yes, I don't know what Harry was thinking!), **DarkKnight **(I'm quite mad at Harry myself ^_^), **Myanda** (okay, I didn't really hurry, but just a hint . . . I like Oreos!), **cammie_, _Korinna Myorin, pyrobunnie **(I can think of many different words for Lucius other than "jerk"), **StrangerWithMyFace**, **sailor hope, Strega Brava, Archer, Lizzy/Tigrestick, Nice, Nemesis **(funny how even Draco's worst enemy goes to him when they need help, isn't it? Hee hee), **Tigre**, **Grace, Hermione M. Granger **(they kissed again!), **Luninthoron **(thanx!), **summer_thyme, LilyAyl **(I don't exactly think of it as suffering . . .), **Melissa Belial Riddle, Zoemma **(you hate 'em, yet I always use them! ^_~)**, Tiku** (they'll have an even better chance to, um, finish what they started), **~meg~,** **sOmEoNeSpEcIaL, **and last but not least, Christine, my beta!

And if I forgot anyone I'm sorry, considering ff.net has gone wacko and I can't see all my reviews :P. 


	11. Chocolate Kisses

Normal 6 pt 6 pt 0 0 

Disclaimer: JK Rowling STILL owns it all (wow, a surprise, huh?)

A/N: There is some serious snogging at the end of the chapter. Just a warning ;)

Chapter Eleven 

_Chocolate Kisses___

Ginny hadn't felt this secure in months. She buried her face in Draco's neck, willing herself to stop crying, wishing her nose wasn't clogged so she could smell him. He gripped her tightly, their bodies perfectly molded into one another's. He wasn't saying anything, or even rubbing her back reassuringly, but she instantly felt better anyway. 

    Draco was the first to pull away, just so he could see her face. "It's not safe here," he said in a gravelly voice, his expression unreadable. 

    He turned, holding her wrist loosely, and started to walk down the aisle from the way he had come, back to the exit where his broom was. But when he looked up he stopped short, seeing that his father armed with two bulky men. Ginny was instantly reminded of the way Draco used to look back at school, when he was flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. Only this image was far more frightening, because the look on Lucius Malfoy's face was twice as vicious as Draco's had ever been. 

    Then a cold smile spread over the older blond man's face. 

"Where do you plan on going?" he said slowly, walking towards them.

    Draco did not reply. Ginny glanced at his profile and saw his jaw muscles twitching, showing that he was grinding his teeth. He dropped her wrist, but instinctively took a step closer to him, turning her attention back to his father.

    "You are a fool, Draco," Lucius hissed, the smile dropping off his mouth. He was now standing before them, close enough for Ginny to see the details of his face in the pale lighting. His lips set in a straight line, hard and cold. His eyes narrowed, holding no humanly warmth, only the blazing fire of his frustration and anger. His hair, shorter than his son's, and a bit coarser, but just as blond. 

    Lucius jerked his eyes towards her, seeing her staring at him. She blinked, startled, but did not look away. She resisted the urge to stumble backwards, uneasy and a nearly trembling under his hard gaze.

    "You," he spat at her through clenched teeth, "have been nothing but trouble to me."

    Ginny opened her mouth to reply. But then, in a flash of his sleeve, Lucius raised his hand and delivered such a hard blow to the side of her face it sent her stumbling into the shelves of food.

    Draco didn't wait a second before grabbing the front of his father's robes roughly, angrily. With all his strength, he shoved Lucius into the opposite food rack.

    Lucius was not prepared for this and lifted his arms back to try and grab the edge of the shelf to try and regain his balance. His movement caused many cans to roll from their places and fall to the floor with loud clatters. 

    Ginny watched, her back up against the other rack, one hand holding her burning cheek, as Draco pulled out his wand. But he didn't point at his father – rather, he pointed to the shelf above him. "_Inixious_," he hissed. A jet of pale blue light shot from the top of his wand and hit the shelves.

    Lucius, leaning back against he shelves for support, didn't have time to react. The entire rack began to tip backwards, and Lucius Malfoy fell with it.

   Ginny watched, her mouth slightly open in shock, as the falling rack had a domino effect. It fell onto the next one and tipped it, which fell onto the next one, and so on and so on . . .

    The sounds of the other men's shouts filled the air. Ginny lowered her hand from her cheek and hugged herself, feeling helpless and vulnerable, wondering what would happen next.

    Lucius was stunned for a moment as he lay on his back on the fallen shelf. Then he started to scramble to his feet, and Draco backed up closer to Ginny, but she couldn't see his face; couldn't see what he was thinking now that the fact that he'd attacked his father sunk in. 

    It's amazing his back isn't broken, Ginny thought of Lucius, watching as he started to straighten.

    Then, several things happened. The sound of sirens filled the air, signaling the approaching Muggle police. Harry appeared at the end of the aisle, having come to see what had happened, and spotted Ginny. As he started to run towards her, he also noticed Lucius, who was too busy glaring at his son with menace, to notice him. Harry slowed to walk before coming to an altogether stop about two yards from them.

    Ginny's eyes searched Draco's face, trying to find some hint of fear. She knew that if Lucius Malfoy was looking at her like that she would be cowering on the ground. But Draco met his father's gaze levelly, face emotionless. 

    Ginny felt like everything was trapped in time. Nothing moved. Even the other men seemed to realize something was wrong and had stopped moving around. The only thing that hinted the earth was still revolving was the sirens, growing louder and louder until they seemed right outside the store.

    Finally, Lucius's body guards, who had stood at the end of the aisle and watched the shelves fall, hurried to his side. The sound of opening car doors was heard, and Ginny could see the busted doors from where she was standing now that the racks of food were down, and saw the flashing red and blue lights.

    "The building is surrounded," came a loud voice from outside. "Come out with your hands up."

    There was a flurry of movement when the other dozen men came rushing to Lucius. Ginny watched, her back to Harry, and jumped when she felt him grab her arm.

    "Come on," he whispered, and began to pull her down the aisle.

    "But Draco –" she started, though she didn't put up any resistance. Glancing over her shoulder, walking quickly because Harry was yanking her arm urgently, she saw that Lucius managed to shut up his men with a mere glance. They all stood awkwardly around him. Draco had stepped backwards until his back was against the shelf, watching his father warily.

    Lucius suddenly noticed that Ginny and Harry were getting away. He turned his head sharply and pulled his wand out, pointing it at her.

    Ginny and Harry sprinted the rest of the way down the aisle. He steered her towards the employee's exit he'd come in, but without the tallness of the collapsed shelves they were easy targets.

    It was amazing none of the curses Lucius hurled at her hit either of them. He must've been shaking with so much rage that he couldn't aim correctly. The ground and wall got the brunt of the hexes, causing shattered pieces to jump into the air all around her and Harry. But they made it out safely, and, without hesitating, Harry jumped onto his broom.

    "Come on," he said immediately. "They'll be coming –"

    "What about Draco?" Ginny demanded, reluctant to leave without him. She knew Lucius would do something terrible to him for helping her, and how could she leave him when all he'd done the past few days was save her? 

    "He's a big boy; he can take care of himself," Harry said quickly. "C'mon Ginny, they're going to come any second. Am I going to have to grab you and use a Sticking Charm to keep you on this broom?"

    She stared at him for a moment, and he stared back, one dark eyebrow raised. Ginny sighed. What good could she to for Draco, anyway? Her cheek was throbbing, her body ached with exhaustion, and she didn't have her wand. She'd probably only cause more trouble.

    She swung one leg over the broom and gripped Harry's waist firmly. He instantly pushed off into the air, going as fast as his SilverStar 7000 would go. Ginny glanced back down at the rapidly shrinking store, and the flashing lights of the police cars. She hoped that Draco would get arrested – it would keep him safe from his father. Then he could escape. 

    Draco will be safer in a Muggle prison than with his father, she thought sadly, looking forward again and burying her face into the back of Harry's shoulder. 

* * *

They had seconds before the Muggle police were going to come in. Draco half-heard them outside, demanding that they come out or they were going to come in. But his attention was focused on his father, well aware that if he took his eyes from Lucius even once then he would use that opportunity to attack him. Draco was too busy being careful to feel anything about Ginny's departure. He forced her from his mind.

    Lucius turned to his men. "Take his wand from him," he said simply, his voice surprisingly calm. 

    When he seems calm is when he's the angriest, Draco thought as three men rushed towards him. He didn't put up much of a fight, and his wand was wrenched from his grasp within seconds. 

    That's when the police decided to come in.

    In about a minute, even though Lucius tried to use Memory Charms to get them to forget about what just happened, they were completely surrounded by Muggle police. They all had their pistols pointed at them, and one of them kept saying in a loud, deep tone, "Drop you weapons and put your hands above your head!"

    Draco was the first to obey, praying his father would realize how stupid it would be to try and use magic on these dozens of Muggles. If I'm arrested then I'll be able to escape, he mused. 

    But Lucius was not stupid, and with a scowl he dropped his wand to the ground. His men followed the suit, and were instantly rushed by a swarm of police.

    Draco allowed them make him stand against the wall, legs apart, and then pat him down, searching for any more weapons. He didn't change his expression when they handcuffed his hands behind his back and led him outside, forcing him not so gently into the back of a police car. In fact, he felt rather relieved as they drove away, Draco alone in the rear seat, two policemen up front. 

    He'd somehow escape jail. But he knew his father would, too. Somehow he'd have to do it sooner than his father. As in, right after he arrived. 

    Yet instead of being taken right to a cell, he was lead to a room. It was empty except for a table with two chairs on each side. His handcuffs were taken off and he was told to take a seat in one of the chairs. 

    Draco obeyed without speaking. A rather pudgy man sat on the opposite side, and he wore a collared shirt and tie, not the black uniform of an officer. There was one lamp hanging directly over the table, casting a yellow light over the man's already pasty complexion. There were two guards standing by the doors, and another collared-shirt man behind the first with a tape recorder.

    "My name's Detective Hammerson," the man sitting across from Draco began gruffly. "Rightfully, you don't have to tell us anything until you get a lawyer. Would you like to wait, or can you tell us something now?"

    Draco did not reply.

    After a long silence, Hammerson nodded. "All right, I'll take it now is a good time for you." He raised one eyebrow and paused, waiting for Draco to object. When he was met with more silence, he continued. "Can you tell me who you are?"

    Draco wasn't sure if he should give a false name or not. So he didn't reply and stared the man square in the eye.

    After a moment, Hammerson straightened. "You don't know who you are, or do you not speak English?" He sounded sarcastic and annoyed.

    Draco continued to stare at him, keeping his face unreadable.

    "All right," Hammerson said, beginning to stand, "we'll just get the language interpreter in here –"

    "Eric," Draco said lazily. "My name is Eric Wimbleton."

    Hammerson returned to his seat, looking at him as if trying to detect his lie. Draco made sure his face was completely expressionless. "Well, Eric," the detective said, clasping his hands together, "can you tell me why you broke into that grocery store?"

    "I can," Draco said simply.

    There was a long stretch of silence, obviously because Hammerson was waiting for Draco to elaborate. When nothing came, he frowned in irritation and ordered, "Tell me."

    He shrugged. "I was hungry."

    Hammerson's frown deepened. "This is no joking matter, young man. You could be facing several years in prison for this."

    Draco tried not to smirk. Once I get hold of my wand I'll use a Memory Charm on you and you'll forget all about this incident, he thought confidently, but didn't open his mouth.

    "You'll be charged on several accounts," Hammerson went on. "Firstly, for breaking and entering. Secondly, for destruction of property. Now, you might not have been the one to tip all those food racks over, but you were there and you had something to do with it. But if you did have any action in tipping those over you could be charged for possible manslaughter, considering three men are hospitalized for being nearly crushed to death by the falling shelves."

    Oh, boo-hoo. Draco rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to put his feet up on the desk, cross his feet at the ankles, and fold his hands nonchalantly in his lap. Three less almost-Death-Eaters to worry about. You should be thanking me, not putting me in jail.

    "Do you have anything to say to defend yourself?" Hammerson asked, annoyed at Draco's easy manner.

    Draco seemed to consider it carefully before replying, "The doors were already busted when I came."

    "Who broke them?" Hammerson asked quickly.

    Draco shrugged.

    Hammerson tried in vain to pump more information from him, but Draco would only reply with a shrug or a shake of the head. The detective looked pissed off enough to about jump across the table and strangle him. He managed to control himself and pulled out a plastic baggy.

    "Can you tell me what these are?" he snapped.

    Draco's heart soared as he stared at the bag, full of wands. His wand had to be in there – he figured that the police had gotten them off the men and Lucius. That meant Ginny's wand was in there and he could give it to her. Quickly pushing her from his mind, Draco acted calmly.

    "Perhaps a new sort of pipe to sniff cocaine from?" he suggested with a raise of his eyebrows. Apparently Hammerson did not find this funny and glared.

    "They aren't hollow," he said sharply.

    Draco made sure his expression didn't give away his eagerness as he leaned forward and held his hand out. "May I look at them closer? I can't see them well enough to decide what they are."

    Hammerson grumbled something under his breath and dropped the bag into Draco's outstretched hand. 

    Draco opened the bag and pulled out each wand, one by one, searching for his own. He pretended to examine each one before setting them in a neat pile on the table before him. 

    Finally, he found his. His fingers closed around it gratefully. Now I can escape with all their wands. Father will have to stay here for a bit longer, won't he?

    Draco stood up, dropping the half-full bag onto the table. Alarmed, Hammerson got to his feet, too.

    "What are you doing?" the detective demanded.

    Draco turned quickly and stunned the two guards at the door, all in one breath. He whirled around to face Hammerson and the other man. They both started to hurry towards him, and he took a few steps back so they couldn't snatch his wand away.

    A second later, they both dropped to the ground, stunned like the guards. 

    Hurriedly, Draco performed Memory Charms on all four of them, erasing his face from their minds. They were the only people who had really gotten a good look at him – to every other policemen, his face would fade away within a few days and hopefully they'd forget about him. Or at least forget what he looked like.

    Draco set the tape recorder on fire so it could never play back the interrogation, stuffed the wands bag in the bag and stuck them in his cloak pocket, took the keys from one of the guards, and unlocked the door.

    He was out of the station within minutes. Only running into two policemen, he'd managed to stun them and get away unnoticed by anyone else. 

    Once outside, he knew he wouldn't be able to get anywhere without his broom. Figuring that the police must've found it outside the grocery store and that it had to be somewhere inside the station, he walked around until he found an empty room. 

    Magicking the window open, noticing the already-open door, he hissed, "Accio Firebolt 5000." 

    A moment later, his broomstick was in his hand. Draco walked casually away from the station. When he reached the main road, he looked around, saw no Muggles, and pushed off into the air.

    He flew around aimlessly for a while, realizing that he had only a couple hours of darkness left, and then would have to return to the ground. But he wasn't sure where to go. He couldn't go home. And he couldn't stay at a hotel. He was still wanted.

    I could go to Ginny's. The thought popped into his head, uninvited. He quickly contradicted himself. Why would I go there? I'm not welcome. Her family hates me.

    It was most obvious that home was where Harry was taking her. And he could use the excuse that he was returning her wand. 

    I can just owl it to her, he thought. 

    Besides, he wasn't totally sure where her house was. Of course, if he really wanted to know, he could get a map of rural neighborhoods of England from a wizarding convenience store, one that labeled each house by the last name of who lived there. But how could he go to the Weasley household? If her brothers didn't kill him . . . well, then they'd probably hurt him very badly instead. And anyway, who says Ginny even wanted him?

    Sure, she'd needed him for a little while, but that was only because there was no one else. If she were with her family, safe and secure with her seven male members, then she'd have no need for him. 

    I need to go somewhere, he thought, frustrated. But, he realized with dread, he didn't have anywhere to go. No one wanted him – except the Ministry, and he didn't exactly want to end up in their clutches.

    After a while, he set off towards London. Once he got there he'd figure out what to do. His father would probably be held up in jail for a few days before he managed to weasel his way out of it. 

    Draco smiled smugly, feeling the wands in his pocket. Very rarely did he feel as if he were doing something right, and now was one of those unusual moments.

* * *

Ginny had dozed off against Harry, and she jolted awake as they touched the ground. Harry helped her off gently, saying something to her. She was too exhausted to hear; too tired to keep her eyes focused. It was morning, she noticed, and wondered how long she'd been asleep.

    But when she noticed where they were, she forced her eyes to focus. She was home. The sight of her tilting, small, rather ridiculous house had never looked so inviting. She shrugged Harry's arm off her shoulders and somehow found the strength inside her to take two steps at a time up the familiar front porch steps. Throwing the door open, she hurried into the front hallway, breathing in the scent of her house, of her family. Oh, how she had missed it. She'd rarely been home in the couple of months during her trial, always having to stay in hotels in London, and it felt as if she hadn't see it in years. No longer did she cringe at the worn out rug on the hardwood floor – in fact, she had the oddest desire to throw herself upon it and sleep. 

    She forced herself to not stop and kept going. There was light coming from the family room, and she could hear the radio on, tuned into the news. Ginny came to the doorway, and had to sag against the frame to keep her from collapsing.

    There they were. All of her brothers were home. Fred, George, Charlie, and Bill were crowded on the couch, each of them trying to read books. Percy, who was reading the newspaper, shared the loveseat with Ron, who was reading a Quidditch magazine, with Hermione squished between them and holding Ron's hand, her other hand grading papers. Her mother was sitting in a reclining chair, knitting, though Ginny could tell by the uneven stitches that Mrs. Weasley's heart was no into it. Her father was sitting in the other armchair, also reading the newspaper.

    No one noticed her leaning against the doorframe, gripping it to keep on her feet. Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at her family, her lovely family. She let out a loud sob that caused everyone's head to snap up and stare at her.

    There was a second of silence as everyone glued their eyes to her, as if not believing it was her. Her mother was the first to react.

    She jumped out of her seat, her knitting things sliding to the floor, forgotten, and crossed the room with surprising speed for someone with legs as short as hers. And then Ginny was being smothered in her arms, so tightly she could barely breathe, but she didn't care. Mrs. Weasley stroked her hair and kept muttering, "Ginny, my baby, you're all right, you're home now . . ."

    After that, Ginny hugged everyone in the room, unable to speak because she was so relieved, so happy to be home and with her family again. When she pulled away from Hermione, she turned to see Harry had entered the room, smiling slightly awkwardly at the scene.

    Mrs. Weasley draped her arm around Ginny's shoulders and pulled her in a sideways hug as Mr. Weasley went to clap Harry on the back.

    "Thank you, Harry," he said, tears in his eyes as he gave Harry a faltering smile. "You don't know how much this means to us."

    Ginny wiped at her cheeks, sniffing to try and clear her nose. Her mother turned to her and beamed her a warm, reassuring grin. "How about a nice warm meal and then a bath, huh?" she suggested, rubbing up and down Ginny's upper arms briskly.

    She nodded, and a few minutes later she was eating a big breakfast with her family, Hermoine, and Harry. Her brothers were eager to hear about what had happened to her in the past few days, but Mrs. Weasley shushed them, and said that Ginny would tell them all later. Ginny was thankful, because she was not in the mood to talk. As she ate her mum's wonderful cooking, she listened as everyone else spoke about every subject but her escape.

    When she couldn't eat any more, Ginny was too exhausted to even think of taking a bath. Instead, she dragged herself up to her room, peeled off her filthy jumpsuit, and collapsed into her bed. As she drifted off to sleep, savoring the amazing feeling of being back in her own bed, her parents came in and kissed her forehead. After that she fell into a very deep sleep.

    She slept soundly and dreamlessly, and when she slowly opened her eyes it was dusk. She lay in bed for a while, listening to the muffled voices of her family in various parts of the house, smiling gently and feeling so happy she could burst. She refused to remember the fact that at any minute, the Ministry could come and take her away. At the moment she was home, and she was determined to enjoy it.

    Ginny took a long shower once she managed to pull herself from bed, afraid she might fall asleep again if she took a bath. It felt luxurious to wash her hair and her body, feeling the warm needles of water on her back. And then her thoughts started to drift back to Draco.

    I hope he's okay, she thought, biting her lower lip nervously. She hoped he'd managed to get away from his father. Every time she thought of how she'd left him there, when he'd never left her, her stomach lurched unpleasantly. 

    She got out of the shower and dried off, getting into a pink camisole that clashed horribly with her hair and a pair of large plaid pajama bottoms. Hungry again, she padded downstairs to get some dinner.

    When her mother wasn't looking, Ginny managed to grab a chunk of her mother's homemade chocolate. She was just about to shove it in her mouth when there was a knock on the door.

* * *

Draco had gotten lost.

    He'd stopped at a wizarding store to get a map. He'd also bought a toothbrush and toothpaste and brushed his teeth in the bathroom. Then he'd hurried out before anyone recognized him, and found Ginny's house on the map. But somehow he'd gotten hopelessly lost, and flew around all day trying to find something familiar that would help him find his way.

    At last he'd come back to the store and he started out again. This time around he'd managed to find it. By now it was dark, and the sight of the Burrow, though rather shabby and crooked, gave off a warm, homey light. 

    Broom in one hand, map in the other, Draco stood before the front porch steps, looking up at the door. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to knock. He wasn't welcome here. 

    What the hell was I thinking? he wondered, pissed off at himself. _Coming to her house? She won't want to see me, and then her brothers will beat the shit out of me.___

    But somehow he found himself walking up the porch steps until he was right before the door, and he raised his hand to knock. Just do it, he ordered himself, and sucked in a deep breath.

    He knocked.

    There was complete silence for a few seconds. Draco released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and waited. Waited.

    Finally, there was a scuffling noise, and the sound of bolts being undone. The door opened a crack and someone peered out.

    After another moment or two, it opened fully. The short, round, Mrs. Weasley stood there, her lips pursed, eyes narrowed. They stared at each other for a little while before she finally asked, "Can I help you?"

    Draco remembered the reason he'd come and dug into his pocket. He pulled out the baggie of wands, cursing himself in his head for not separating hers before he'd knocked. Idiot! He felt rather foolish as he rummaged through the dozen plus wands, finally finding Ginny's and holding it out to her mother.

    "This is her wand," he said simply.

    Mrs. Weasley continued to eye him suspiciously, then reluctantly took the wand. "Thank you," she said cautiously, and stepped back inside, starting to shut the door.

    So that's that, Draco thought. I didn't even see her. What a pointless trip this turned out to be.

    The door was nearly shut, and Draco still hadn't moved, when it suddenly flew open. And instead of Mrs. Weasley, it was Ginny. Her hair, slightly damp, fell down to her bare shoulders in waves, and her skin looked so clean Draco's fingers itched to touch it. 

    For what seemed like hours, Ginny just stared at him, one hand holding the door open, the other holding a rather large chunk of chocolate. Then, turning her head slightly but not taking her eyes from Draco's, she said to her mother who must've been standing nearby, "Mum, I'll be in in a minute."

    There was a long stretch of silence before Draco heard Mrs. Weasley walk away. Ginny then stepped out on to the porch and shut the door behind her.

    She held out the chocolate, offering it to him. But he shook his head. "I'm not hungry," he lied, smirking.

    She remained serious. "Yes you are." But she didn't persist the issue. She gestured at the hanging swing on the porch, and they both sat. "Were you arrested?" she asked quietly, breaking off a piece of chocolate and putting it in her mouth.

    "Yes. But they were stupid enough to give me my wand."

    She sighed, lifting her head to look straight ahead, chewing thoughtfully. Draco stared at her lovely profile, resisting the urge to grab her and kiss her. Even though her mouth was full.  

"Where's your father?" she inquired.

    "Still in Muggle custody," he replied. "I have all their wands."

    Ginny snapped her face at him, and Draco grinned and pulled out the bag of wands. She stared at it for a moment before laughing.

    Draco found himself smiling. He hadn't seen her laugh with joy since . . . well, since never. He'd never paid her much attention at school, and she hadn't had anything to laugh about in the past few days they'd spent together. And it actually made him warm inside, to know that he was partly the reason she was finally laughing happily.

    After a moment, she sobered. She put another bit of chocolate in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before speaking again. "I'm sorry."

    "For what?"

    "I left you there."

    "I didn't expect you to stick around. Besides, Weasley, I can handle myself." His eyes caught hers, and it took her a moment to realize he was only teasing her by calling her Weasley.

    She looked so irresistible at that moment, with a wistful expression, her face partly in shadows. Draco was having trouble controlling his thoughts, and had to grip the armrest of the swing to keep from touching her.

    "I just feel bad," she said, sighing. "I don't know, you've always been there for me, and then the one chance I get to help you, I leave . . ."

    She was worried about me. The thought surprised him. No one had ever really been worried about him before.

    Before he knew what he was doing, he had leaned over and had his lips against hers. At first, she was startled, but it only took a second before she was responding. She tasted wonderfully of chocolate, and Draco moved closer to her.

    He was kissing her so deeply that he was beginning to push her back on the seat of the bench. Her feet still on the ground, her body twisted at the ribs, she used her chocolate-free hand to run her fingers over his cheek, then up to his hair. His own hands were brushing the back of her neck, and his touch was cold. It was sending shivers down her spine, and caused her stomach to dip several times. Despite his cool fingers, Ginny felt as if she were on fire. His kiss was certainly far from icy – in fact, the remaining piece of chocolate was beginning to melt, being pinched in her forefinger and thumb. 

    Using her free hand, she gently pushed his head away to break off the kiss. For a moment he thought that she didn't want to kiss him anymore, that she was going to tell him to get off her. But instead, she smiled slightly, and raised her hand and put the last bit of chocolate to his lips, dropping it into his mouth.

    He didn't chew it immediately. Instead, he took her chocolate-smeared hand and put her fingertip into his mouth, sucking off the melted chocolate. He did the same to her thumb, and Ginny watched. Her heart had gone from quick, fluttering beats to slow, pounding beats, which she could hear in her ears. She was quite breathless when he finally returned his lips to hers.

    If Ginny had been watching this scene, she was sure she would've been totally grossed out at the prospect of sharing masticated chocolate with someone else. But experiencing it was a totally different situation. It was amazing; erotic. Once again they shifted so that Ginny was on her back on the bench, her legs slightly apart to accommodate Draco's, who was half-kneeling and half-lying on her. 

    He pushed up her top, which hadn't been blocking his touch before, and he ran his hands over her stomach and up her sides in a slow movement that had her clutching him. Their kiss deepened even more, and that's when Ginny's brain finally started to work.

    If I don't put a stop to this, she thought, then we're going to end up having sex on my front porch.

    When his lips left hers to kiss her neck, she took the opportunity to speak. Her eyes opened, and she stared at the ceiling, trying to gather her wits about her. "Draco," she whispered breathlessly, "Draco, we can't . . . we shouldn't be . . ."

    She trailed off because her hands did not seem to be listening to her words. They were roaming over his clothes, trying to find the clasp in which she could undo. And then his lips were on hers again, sealing off any other words she might try to say. She gave up and kissed him back.

    Then someone cleared their throat, and Ginny's eyes flew open. Draco lifted his head and they both looked towards the front door. Harry was leaning out, looking at them with a shocked and embarrassed expression.

    "Sorry to interrupt," he said dryly, "but your mum wants you to come back in, Gin."

    Thank God she didn't come out here, Ginny thought, pushing at Draco so he would get off her. He did slowly, while Ginny hurried to get in a sitting position and nearly flew off the bench. 

    "Tell her I'll be right in," she said to Harry, shutting the door for him. Then she turned back to Draco, and the sight of him made her knees weak and her stomach drop. God, how much she still wanted to kiss him.

    "I think I should leave," Draco said, amused, his lips in a half-smirk. He shoved the baggy of wands back into his pocket and stood up. 

    "Where are you going to go?" Ginny asked as he started down the porch steps to retrieve his broomstick. 

    His back to her, he shrugged. "Does it matter?"

    "Yes." She stepped off the porch to stand behind him. "You can't go home. Where else could you go?"

    He turned, his expression unreadable, though his eyes were blazing. "Nowhere. I can't go anywhere," he said roughly.

    "Well, maybe you can stay here," Ginny blurted. 

    He raised an eyebrow as if considering it then shook his head. "No. Not with your brothers around."

    "Then where?" she asked stubbornly. "You don't have anyplace else to go. I won't have you sleeping in the woods or stealing Muggle hotel rooms again."

    He smirked, amused again. "You won't? Well, since when does your opinion matter to me, Miss Weasley?"

    She narrowed her eyes. "You're staying here, Draco even if I have to tie you to a bed."

    When she realized what she said, she blushed furiously, glancing down. Draco stared at her, half-smirking and half-grinning. "That doesn't sound like such a bad idea," he told her slowly. "Which bed do I get?"

A/N: All right, thank yous.

**Christine, ~meg~ **(they got out safely!), **Luinthoron** (I'm glad you like it), **Ophelia**, **Audrey, Lavender James **(thank you, I hate rushed fics! Argh, they bother me to no end, just like Soft!Draco does), **cammie **(of course!), **Hermione M. Granger **(and yet again they kissed :P), **w&m_law **(thanks for the double reviews, they made me very happy!), **Black Sparkles, audig, leah **(well, thanks for spreading the word around :)) **HermSpex44, Archer **(thanks, and I'm still waiting for more of Catenatus!), **Draco's babe **(oops, as you can tell, not all of my writing is accurate…*blushes*), **AlienChick **(no, I think I'm just going to stop here…JUST KIDDING! *grins*), **Juliana Black **(yes, I know), **Jace **(after how annoying ff.net is being I just might post in fictionalley :-)) **Lexxy **(Thanks! It's rather easy to get sucked into HP fanfiction, if you find the right sort of story), **Yosis **(ahh, D/G fluff. I love it…), **astarael, rocket_queen_12** (of course everything will be all right for them, I love happy endings), **ItsJustMe** (did this chapter satisfy your hope for snogging? Hee hee), **Grace** (your reviews just make me go all warm and fuzzy inside!), **nox **(oooh, um, chapter 5 of All You Need Is Love is currently in production…I hope this will satisfy you until it's out), **One-Mix** (no reviews are pointless!), **The Girl Who Loved **(something like that…:-)) **Melissa Belial Riddle, summer_thyme **(was that enough smoochies?), **Korinna Myorin**, and **Tia Dot** (I added that part about Draco brushing his teeth just for you!)


	12. Into the Snake Pit

Disclaimer: It all belongs to JK Rowling. A/N: Special thanks, as always, to Christine for beta reading this for me :) Chapter Twelve 

_Into the Snake Pit_

Ginny thought she'd fall right to sleep that night, but she didn't. Maybe it was because she'd slept all day, or because she kept replaying the scene with Draco on her front porch over and over in her mind. Either way, she felt wide awake and finally threw off the covers and went downstairs for something to drink.

    She crept silently passed the living room where Draco was sleeping on the couch. In the kitchen, she smiled to herself, remembering the reaction of her family when she'd told them Draco Malfoy was going to be staying in their house. In the end, Mr. Weasley managed to calm them all down, though nothing could stop the murderous looks they threw at Draco when he came inside.

    Ginny had to admire Draco, for he didn't appear affected at all. He ignored them, thanking Mr. Weasley coolly for letting him stay, complimenting Mrs. Weasley on her soup that had been given to him for dinner. And he hadn't even whispered one nasty thing about Ginny's family to her when no one else was listening. 

    It was a miracle.

    Ginny reached up and grabbed a glass out of the cabinet, then turned and used her magic to get the milk from the refrigerator. Leaning back against the counter, she held the glass in her hand as the bewitched milk jug poured its contents in, then went right back into the refrigerator without Ginny's help. With another tap of her wand, the milk was warm.

    Warm milk always calmed her nerves, especially after she had nightmares. And it seemed she had been living in a huge nightmare for months. Sipping thoughtfully, she began to think things over.

    Now that she was out of immediate danger – though she wasn't sure how long it would take Lucius to get out of Muggle jail and have the Ministry looking for her again – she needed to figure out how to clear her name. 

    What she needed to do was prove that the Veratiserum had been tampered with. Though she had no idea how to do it. If Lucius were smart, he would've destroyed all the evidence, which he'd probably done.

    She'd need Draco's help, definitely, if she hoped to get into Malfoy Manor undetected. He'd so much as refused to help her a few days ago, but she had a feeling things had changed between them…

    She instantly got goose flesh thinking about him, and the way his lips felt on hers. The way his hands traveled up and down her body, how his fingers seemed to penetrate through her clothes –

    Ginny shook her head, forcing the images out of her mind. _You'll _never_ fall asleep if you keep thinking about him_, she scolded herself.

    And yet she found herself carrying her glass of warm milk into the family room where Draco was sleeping on the couch. For a moment, she stood beside the sofa, staring down at him. He was sleeping soundly, breathing evenly, and Ginny couldn't blame him, for he probably hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in a while. 

    Ginny sighed deeply. _God, he's beautiful_, she thought. Though she couldn't help but notice even in sleep, his eyebrows were furrowed together like he was thinking hard about something unpleasant. Without thinking she reached down to gently brush some stray hair away from his forehead, and jumped nearly a mile when he shifted position in response to the brush of her fingers, managing to spill warm milk all down the front of her camisole.

    Mumbling under her breath, she quickly left the room before he woke up and found her there.

    Back in the kitchen, she wiped the front of her shirt with a rag, still muttering to herself. "Of all the things…such a _prat_…oh, idiot, I should be using my wand, not a bloody rag –"

    "Ginny?" came a drawling, amused voice. She could hint slight thickness, showing he'd just gotten out of a deep sleep.

    Instantly she knew who it was, and lifted her head up quickly. She opened her mouth to reply when she noticed he was not wearing a shirt. Something she hadn't noticed when he'd been under the blanket on the couch. 

    For a moment, she just stared, her eyes running over his hairless chest down to his smooth stomach, before she managed to snap out of it. "What?" she croaked.

    He was smirking at her, clearly aware of how she was gaping. "I'll wait until you put your eyeballs back in," he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. His hair was slightly tousled, and he looked adorable. 

    Her awe turned into anger, and she threw the rag onto the counter. _Ginny, you've grown up with boys. You've seen over half a dozen shirtless before,_ she scolded herself, annoyed at her reaction. 

    "I was thirsty," she said, feeling the need to explain. "I wanted some milk."

    "Okay."

    "I thought you were sleeping."

    "I was."

    "You woke up?"

    "Obviously."

    "Oh." Now she felt stupid, and quickly turned her back to clear her glass from the counter, cheeks burning. She could feel him staring at her as she put the glass in the sink and returned the towel to its rack.

    "Why aren't you asleep?"

    "I couldn't," she admitted, searching for something to do to keep her eyes averted from his. But there was nothing, and she ended up turning back around to face him, trying to keep her gaze on his and not his chest. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, his arms were crossed. "I was thinking."

    "Something new and different."

    "I think I know how to clear my name."

    "Then let's hear it."

    She frowned, pressing her lips into a line. "I'll need your help."

    "Doesn't everybody," Draco remarked dryly, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling. He seemed to be very interested in it as he continued, "I'm the first person everybody goes to for help."

    "Don't be a git, Draco."

    "No. That's your brother's job."

    "Aren't you going to listen to my idea?"

    "Of course. Whatever gave you the idea that I wasn't going to listen?"

    His tone was sarcastic, and it bothered Ginny to a great extent. But she sighed and stated calmly, "We'll go to your house."

    Draco's smirk diminished and the corners of his mouth drooped down into a frown. "I thought we've been over this, Weasley."

    "Draco, it's the only way," Ginny said firmly. 

    "And just what do you expect to find at my house?" he demanded. "My father's no idiot – he's gotten rid of everything that hinted in the first place that he tampered with the Veritaserum. You'll only succeed in getting yourself killed –"

    "If I _don't_ do anything then I'll get myself killed," Ginny fired back. "At least by going to your house I'll die trying to get my name cleared, and there's a chance I _might_ even come out alive. Staying here doing nothing guarantees my death, or at least my imprisonment."

    He stared at her long and hard for a while, and when he spoke his tone was low. "I don't see what you're going to accomplish going to my house."

    She opened her mouth to reply, but then realized that she wasn't all what she hoped to accomplish, either. What did she expect to find there? There would be no evidence. But then again, it would probably be the last place Lucius would expect them to be; in his very own home. 

    Yet it would be dangerous, because obviously someone would see them. _Someone_ in the house, like Narcissa Malfoy, had to be loyal to Lucius and would certainly inform him in a heartbeat that he or she saw Ginny Weasley walking around Malfoy Manor. Not to mention that Lucius himself just might be there at some point.

    _Of course, I could borrow Harry's Invisibility Cloak_, she thought, a smile spreading across her face. _That way I can sneak around the manor without anyone knowing._

    "What?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes. 

    "What, what?"

    "You're smiling."

    "I have an idea," she said, the plan beginning to form in her mind. "But I'll need your help, of course."

    "Of course," he echoed sardonically. 

* * *

They left the next evening after everyone had gone to bed.

    Ginny felt slightly guilty about leaving without telling her family, for she knew they would worry about her. Her mother got nervous when Ginny even suggested going upstairs by herself, much less leaving the house. She would never let her go, and she wasn't sure if she had the strength to resist her mother. After all, she didn't really want to leave. She would be satisfied just climbing into bed and never leaving again, but she knew if she hoped to _stay_ home for the rest of her life then she'd have to do something about it. 

    In the end, though, Ginny ended up leaving a brief note, just so her parents would know she left out of her own free will. She left it on the kitchen table, and was sure not to let Draco see it.

    And then they left. 

    This time, flying with Draco on his broomstick was more comfortable. At first she was a little hesitant to hold him tightly, but then he snapped, "You're gonna fall off if you don't hold on," and she gripped his waist firmly.

    The flight was uneventful and boring, even though the gnawing feeling in Ginny's stomach constantly reminded her of the dangerous task that lay ahead. Tied firmly to the broom behind her was Harry's Invisibility Cloak, and it was only a small source of comfort. Even being pressed up against Draco couldn't calm her nerves, though she wasn't complaining about being close to him. At one point she found herself pressing her face into his hair and breathing in deeply, and felt Draco stiffen in her arms. Embarrassed, she'd quickly pulled her head back and returned her mind to what was going to happen.

    A few hours before dawn the reached Draco's mansion, and even though it was made of gray stone and the sky was pitch black, Ginny could tell it made her house seem like an outhouse. When they landed on the dark front lawn, she kept close to Draco, afraid that something would jump out of the shadows. 

    At the front door Ginny gripped the silky Invisibility Cloak in her hands tightly, and whispered to Draco, "Should we both wear the cloak?"

    He nodded shortly. "For now, yes," he replied.

    Ginny draped the cloak over the both of them, and then Draco reached out and opened the door. 

    Inside, the front foyer was large and absolutely silent. There was no sound that anybody was in the house, no clanking of pots, no voices from the radio. Ginny found herself holding her breath as they quietly made their way across the foyer, their soft footsteps echoing rather loudly on the gray tile.

    The mansion was quite confusing, and after a while Ginny gave up trying to remember where they were. Draco, however, seemed to know exactly where they were going, and even seemed to know that a house-elf would be loitering around the corridor that would lead directly to their destination, and decided to take a different route.

    About three minutes later, they reached Lucius Malfoy's office, and after Draco locked the door behind them, threw off the Invisibility Cloak. Ginny straightened and looked around the cold, bland room. It was surprisingly messy, with papers scattered everywhere on the desk and books lying in random places on the shelves. She would've expected only neatness from Lucius.

    Draco seemed to notice her surprised and grinned, as if reading her mind. "Father doesn't allow anyone in here," he said. "Not even the house-elves to clean."

    "So is this it?" Ginny asked, walking up to one of the bookshelves and inspecting the spines. "This is where your dad made the Veritaserum?"

    "No, not here," Draco said, and walked over to a life-sized portrait. It was obviously a painting of some old Malfoy, for he had the fine white-blond hair and icy gray eyes, but it wasn't anyone Ginny recognized. It watched as Draco approached and growled, "Password?"

    "_Infinite elixirum_," Draco said clearly. The huge painting swung forward, revealing a dark staircase leading downward.

    Ginny hurried to Draco's side. "Just a password?" she demanded, peering into the pitch black hole. "That's it? Anyone could manage to get it from the painting."

    Draco smirked at her. "If anyone but three select people said that password then old Jonathan Malfoy would've jumped out of the painting and stabbed them to death."

    Ginny stared for a moment, allowing the information to sink in. "Literally?"

    Draco nodded seriously, his smirk fading. "I swear. My dad has it bewitched so my great-great grandfather could come back solid enough to stab someone. If you looked closely you could see the knife hilt in his belt. It's pretty brilliant, actually."

    "Who's the other?"

    "Other what?"

    "You said only three people could use the password and live," Ginny reminded him. "You, obviously, are one of them and you're father clearly is the other. Who's the third?"

    "Voldemort," he said with a short shrug like it should've been the most apparent thing. 

    "Would your dad have changed the password once…well, once he found out you were helping me?" she inquired.

    "No," Draco said curtly. "Probably thought he could torture me back into his good graces before I ever stepped foot into this house again. Now come on, before Jonathan swings shut."

    Ginny resisted the urge to reach for his hand as he stepped in first through the opening. She took a deep breath and followed him in. No sooner had she moved did the portrait swing shut behind her with a thud, cloaking them in darkness.

    She swallowed a shriek, ordering herself to calm down. _Draco's with you. Lucius is still in Muggle jail…hopefully. You're safe,_ she thought, trying to reassure herself. It didn't help much, and she heard Draco fumble for his wand.

    _"Lumos_," he whispered, and the tip of his wand lit up. "Don't trip," he ordered at her over his shoulder, and then started to descend.

    Ginny knew his command hadn't been out of concern; at least, not for her. The staircase was very narrow and steep, and if she tripped them she'd fall right into him, causing him to topple over and they'd roll the rest of the way down. She reached out her arms and pressed her hands against the walls, as there were no railings, to keep her balance as she followed behind him.

    The temperature dropped as they went deeper and deeper underneath the house, and the smell of dirt and musty air reached her nostrils. It seemed to take forever, and as far as Draco's light reached, the end of the stairs was nowhere near.

    "Does your father have a chamber _miles_ beneath the house?" she grumbled, feeling annoyed at how far they were having to walk. 

    "We're not even close yet," Draco replied over his shoulder. "The stairs is the easy part."

    He didn't elaborate, and Ginny was too afraid of what she'd hear if she asked him to. 

    _This is crazy_, she thought. _Why did I have to come here? It'll take us weeks just to reach where Draco wants us to go, and even then we probably won't find what we want. Hell, I'm not even sure _what_ I'm looking for that I want._

    Finally, the stairs ended, straightening out flat into a long tunnel. 

    "This is where you have to stay close," Draco said, pausing and not bothering to turn his head to look at her. "When this was built it was modeled after the vaults under Gringotts."

    "So you mean if I get lost I could wander around down here until I die?" Ginny asked, involuntarily stepping closer to him.

    "Exactly. So stay close," he repeated, then reached back his hand. "Here."

    It took Ginny a moment to realize she wanted him to take it, and she could feel her cheeks burning as she slipped her smaller hand into his comfortably larger one. His fingers were cold, but he held on to her firmly. The feel of him caused shivers to run up her spine and her stomach to plunge ever so slightly. Why did she feel like this when Draco touched her? Even back when she'd been madly in love with Harry and he'd accidentally brush his arm against hers she didn't felt so light-headed – just clumsy and awkward, normally dropping whatever she was holding, tripping over her robes, or blushing bright red.

    Was something happening between them? She'd snogged him on her front porch, but that could've just been from racing hormones, or at the relief of being alive and having a totally hot guy at her fingertips, willing to kiss her back. Yet she felt her toes curl whenever he glanced at her with un-Malfoyish warmth in his eyes, and more often than not she actually felt comfortable around him. Happy, almost. After he'd first kissed her she'd had a large desire to grin stupidly, but the abruptness of the end of the kiss and Harry's arrival had ruled out that urge. 

    Ginny frowned, feeling the start of a headache. Here she was, once again in a precarious situation, and all she could think about was Draco.

* * *

Draco tried to focus on finding his way around in the tunnels underneath his house. His father had been bringing him down here for as long as he could remember – probably before he could even walk – and he knew the way pretty well. Only he hadn't been down in a few months, so there was always the nagging in the pit of his stomach reminding him he _could_ accidentally take a wrong turn, and they'd end up wandering until they died of starvation.

    And holding Ginny's hand wasn't helping his concentration. She was soft, and warm, and he kept remembering the breathtaking kiss – or, rather, several kisses – they'd had on her front porch. 

    _This is insane_, he thought, scowling slightly. _I'm totally falling for a Weasley. I've _been _falling for a Weasley. _

    What surprised him the most, though, was that he really didn't mind. He tried to make himself care, tried to scold himself for liking her, but deep down it didn't matter. He'd snogged girls before, had touched them before, but no one felt as good or as right as Ginny did. Her body seemed to mold perfectly with his, her lips melt with his. Just thinking about her lips gave him goose bumps, and he _rarely_ got goose bumps.

    _All right, Draco, concentrate_, he ordered himself.

    "God, it takes nearly an hour just to get there," Ginny muttered under her breath.

    "We've barely been going ten minutes," Draco replied sharply with a smirk. 

    "Where are we _going_, anyway?" she demanded, nearly jogging to keep up with his long strides. 

    "To where my father made the Veritaserum," he said. 

    "No kidding, Draco," she said sarcastically and somewhat snappishly. "But _where_ exactly?"

    "To my father's potion lab," he told her in a tone just as annoyed. "You get cranky in the cold, don't you?"

    "I'm just irritated," she grumbled. "I'm tired of walking – I want to get this over with!"

    He honestly couldn't blame her. Yet they were close, for he'd already passed the spot where he'd outlined his hand in Muggle chalk when he was five, showing they were taking the right tunnels. His father had never noticed the handprint for some odd reason – maybe because it was so close to the floor and the tunnel being so narrow, his robes just swept by it and hid it from view.

    A minute later, they turned the final corner to face a heavy door at the end of the corridor. He heard Ginny mumble something like, "Finally" and released her hand, stepping forward to the knob. He twisted and pulled, finding it was locked.

    "Funny, he never locks this," Draco said under his breath, but Ginny apparently didn't hear him. He pointed his wand and whispered, "_Alohomora._"

    The door clicked, unlocking, and opened. Draco went in first, and as Ginny stepped in behind him, he was already lighting the candles with a swish of his wand. Soon the medium-sized room was lit with flickering candlelight, revealing the coldness and dreariness of the stone walls and floor. It was even worse than the Hogwarts Potions dungeon because it looked like it hadn't been used in a while. Dust coated the vials and the couple of large black cauldrons thickly, giving it the effect of having been abandoned or forgotten.

    "Looks like he hasn't been down here since he made my Veritaserum," Ginny mused softly, stepping further into the room. Draco shut the door behind them while she went over to inspect the single bookshelf. "Maybe there's a book here…"

    "If anything in here gives away that he tampered with the Veritaserum, it would be in a book," Draco agreed, and joined her by her side. Together they began to scan, looking for anything that would help them.

    They had only been looking for a few seconds when Draco saw Ginny staring at him from the corner of his eye. Though he felt slightly warmer, he pretended not to notice and asked casually, "What?"

    "Nothing," she replied quickly, and quickly averted her eyes back to the books.

    A second later, she was looking at him again. This time he met her gaze, and saw her flush red. "Do I have ink on my nose?" he demanded harshly with a sneer.

    "No." But she didn't look away, and neither did he. For a long moment there was silence before she spoke again. "Draco, do you…do you feel something…something happening to us?"

    He raised one eyebrow questioningly. "How do you mean?" Though he knew very well what she meant. Maybe he was just a coward and was trying to avoid it, or maybe he wanted to her it come straight from her. Either way, he pretended to be naive.

    She opened her mouth, looking slightly helpless. "Just…_something_," she emphasized unhelpfully.

    "Oh, thanks, that really clears it up," he remarked dryly. 

    She narrowed her eyes. "You know what I mean," she said, a bit unsure. "You didn't kiss me for nothing, did you?"

    He made sure to mask his feelings and thought her question out. "Well," he drawled slowly, "not exactly for nothing. I was hoping to get kissed back."

    Her eyes darkened. "Okay, be a git, see if I care."

    "Good, because this isn't really a place to be discussing our relationship," he commented as they turned back to the bookshelf. 

    "I agree, but that doesn't change the fact that you're trying to avoid the topic," she shot back. After a long moment, she spun away from the shelf with a loud groan. "We're _never_ going to find anything! We'll have to search each and every book, and there must be like a hundred of them! This was so stupid – why did you let me come here?"

    "If I remember correctly _you_ were the one so passionate about getting here," he sneered.

    "I know, but why did you listen to me?"

    This time, he turned at stared at her, catching her eye. "Because I want your name cleared just as much as you do," he replied softly. Her eyes softened and she smiled at him, and he realized how sappy he was being. He cleared his throat and added louder, "Because if I don't get my father sent to Azkaban then I'll have to face him. And that's not something I want to do."

    She narrowed her eyes and shook her head, though her eyes never lost their happy glow. "That's you, Draco, always thinking about yourself."

    "When you have no one _but_ yourself, that's all you ever really think about," he retorted.

    She stared at him for a moment, her lips pursed, before replying. "You don't only have yourself," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "What about Professor Snape?"

    Draco gave her a queer look. "What about him?" he asked slowly.

    "You were his favorite back in school," she reminded him pointedly. 

    "That all depends on what you mean by favorite," Draco drawled. "If you mean I was his favorite _student_ …"

    "Of course that's what I meant, Draco!" she said, slapping his arm. 

    He grinned lazily. "So I've got Snape. Do you know how warm and cozy that makes me feel inside?" 

    "I'm just _saying_," she replied, "that I'm sure despite the way he acts he thinks of you as a son of some sort –"

    "Can we please _not_ talk about Snape right now?" Draco demanded. 

    Ginny smiled. "Well, you've got other people besides him. Dumbledore, for example."

    Draco snorted. "Dumbledore tries to be everyone's friend, Ginny. But it's obvious he favors people like Potter. People not like me."

    "Fine," she said, "I won't fight you on this…"

    "Good. We need to find something and get our arses out of here. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get hungry."

    Ginny sighed while Draco returned to the bookshelf, turning her head and surveying the room. "Even if we find something, what will we do?" she asked quietly. "Your father's the Minister of Magic. No one would dare go against his word –"

    "_Precisely_ what I was trying to make you realize before," Draco snapped. "But you seemed dead set on coming here. Why couldn't you have thought of this, oh, I don't know, _yesterday_?"

    "I was just so … so fixated on trying to get my name cleared …" She trailed off, blinking rapidly. Then she turned her face back to him, her eyes blazing. "There's no need to be sarcastic," she retorted. "You said yourself you want my name cleared, too. I kept thinking that when I came there had to be something … _anything _that would give us a hint as to what Lucius did to the Veritaserum, but now that we're here I see how hopeless it is."

    "Yes, well, that's the difference between us, Weasley, is that I look ahead," Draco said, scowling. "I knew it was hopeless even before we left."

    She blinked and looked away, her lower lip beginning to tremble. "There … there's no way to clear my name, is there, Draco?" she whispered, wringing her fingers together and glancing down at them. "You've known in the whole time – and still you've come along with me –"

    She was crying. He felt so helpless when a girl cried. And awkward. His first reaction was to step away from her and let her be alone for a little while, but it was then he realized that when people were upset they didn't always want to be by themselves. _I can't believe I'm doing this_, he thought, taking a step closer to her and erasing any space that had been between their bodies before.

    He lifted Ginny's chin with his finger so she was looking up at him, keeping his face expressionless and his eyes locked on hers. He placed his hands on both sides of her head, feeling her intake her breath sharply and quietly. Even he was surprised at what he was doing, and wiped her cheeks dry with his thumbs.

    "Draco …" Once again she couldn't finish her sentence, though he was glad, because he didn't want her to say anything. The moment was priceless. When he'd first stepped to her, he'd tensed, afraid he would be awkward and clumsy around her. But it was the exact opposite – she felt so right against him and not at all uncomfortable. 

    Ginny's face in his hands, the feel of her warm skin and silky hair against his fingers – it was giving him sensations he'd never experienced before; would probably never experience with anyone else. Her eyes, glassy from her tears, stared at him expectantly, her breathing quickening. Her lips were parted slightly, inviting him to kiss her, and it took all of his self-control to keep his mouth away from hers.

    "There is a way," he said faintly, "to get your name cleared … and I'll help you find it."

    She clearly had not been expecting that, and she smiled gently, her wide eyes filling with such adoration it took his breath away. What had he done to deserve such a good person, such a beautiful person, to be against him, wrapped in his arms? All uncertainties he'd ever felt about falling for Ginny Weasley flew out the window, and the only thing he could think about was how he could feel her heart pounding, the smoothness of her skin beneath his fingertips, the warmth radiating from her body. 

    It was her, not him, who leaned forward and kissed him. Her arms slide around his neck and pulled him tighter against her, and his hands dropped away from her face and down to her waist. He'd forgotten how it felt to be kissed by Ginny Weasley – he thought he'd remembered, but his memories hadn't been nearly as wonderful, nearly as sensational. 

    Her lips were warm, soft, and opened slightly to allow his tongue entry, and the feeling of her hands running through his hair actually made his knees feel slightly weak. He'd never imagined, not in a million years, that a girl would make him go weak in the knees, but Ginny was.

    He began to gently push her backwards so that she was backing up, the back of her knees bumping into the table. Then, he slowly forced her on to it so that she was laying on it, and she kept right on kissing him like she barely noticed. He bent over her, his hands running down the front of her cloak and unclasping it. A little voice in his mind told him this was not the place; it was no safer than snogging on her front porch had been. But, like before, he ignored the voice and continued to kiss her.

    The table was old, and it creaked when Draco put more of his weight against Ginny and more pressure on the ancient table. He barely noticed – his mind was distracted by other things. Like the way Ginny's small hands were working on the front of his robes, and finding the bottom of his T-shirt underneath. When her fingers first brushed his bare stomach he nearly pulled back from the surprise, but he soon got used to the feeling. 

    Draco was at an uncomfortable angle – leaning over her was beginning to cause his back to ache. But he couldn't get on the table with her and he knew it, because it would certainly break under his added load.

    _Stop_, he tried to think. _Stop, you can't do this here…why can't you just pick a normal place to snog her? Why must it be in places where you could easily be caught?_

    Of course, no one _knew_ they were down there. They'd probably be safe for a while, at least long enough to …

    SNAP. With a loud cracking noise, the table legs snapped. Ginny let out a startled shriek as Draco pulled his head away. But the table fell and Ginny with it, and since he'd been leaning so far over her and she still had a good grip on the front of his robes, he lost his balance and fell forward, too.

    Dust rose into the air, causing a cloud to rise up around them. They both coughed, and when it cleared it only revealed the rubble of the table, and Ginny half-sitting, half-lying amongst it, Draco nearly lying across her. 

    For a moment, both of them stayed perfectly still, hardly able to believe it. Then, Ginny began to laugh.

    Draco met her eyes for an instant, seeing the amused and happy expression in them. He could feel his own lips tug into a smile, and before he knew what was happening, he was laughing with her. 

    It felt good to laugh – to genuinely _laugh_ – when he rarely ever did so. For a moment he forgot where they were, and how uncomfortable it was to be in all the broken wooden pieces remaining from the table. It was only him and Ginny, and nothing could ever touch them.

    Finally, they managed to control themselves, and Draco got off of her and crouched beside her. "Hope nothing's injured," he said with a grin.

    She grinned back. "Nothing except my arse … ouch, this is one pointy … _thing_." She reached underneath her and pulled out something. Draco had been expecting a wooden plank or something, but instead, to his surprise, it was a book.

    Ginny gaped at it for a moment. "Was this on the table before?" she asked.

    "No, the top was cleared," Draco replied, his eyebrows furrowed. He took the book from her hands. "It must've been hidden under the table or something."

    "But how?"

    Draco quickly read the tile, hope rising up within him. "Who cares. Look at the title."

    She leaned over and read it out loud. "_Various Veritaserums._" It took a moment to register and sink it, and then she looked at Draco with bright eyes. "_This_ must be the book that explains how to make a Veritaserum Lucius made!"

    "Exactly. There must've been some hidden compartment under the table that it was in," Draco said, idly flipping through the pages. When he returned his gaze to hers he grinned. Standing up, he turned and reached for her hand to help her. "We've got what we were looking for. Let's go –"

    He was cut off by a loud banging noise. As Ginny rose to her feet, he spun around and looked at the door. It'd been opened so forcefully it'd hit the wall beside it.

    One very furious Lucius Malfoy stood there, his face flushed in anger, his hair wild. And behind him was a tall man, wearing a hood, and his red eyes seemed to glow from within the darkness.

* * *

A/N: Ah yes, a cliffie. 

And now, thank yous.

Thanks to: **summer_thyme **(Don't you think Ginny would get jealous if you did? ;)), **Strega Brava**, **Tia Dot **(yes, I confess, I really am in grade 8 *blushes*), **Amen, Psychopath Pyro, Flaming Kitty, ginny5, JennyT, Luinthoron, Alienchick, Jace, Lavender James, audig, Brooklyn Majestic, Rebecca, leah, star girl **(I agree, D/G are adorable together), **Kishoka Hime** (of course there's good in Malfoy – there's good in everyone!)**, Ophelia, DarkKnight, Zoemma, Your Worst Nightmare, Archer **(dancing Draco is NOT torture…lol. And is ff.net still not working for you? I want more Catenatus!), **Dobby Winky, vicsamky**, **evil_gurl, Shannon, Melissa Belial Riddle **(of course they are!) **~meg~ **(I do love happy endings…), **Lupin **(oh my, maybe after they're, um, married?), **Demeter, Mariel, silverarrows***** (of course I'm not done – there's still some things to figure out between them, don't you think?), **Phoenix Flare, someonespecial **(that's okay, I'm being lazy now, too ^__^ And I'm not so sure about Draco in leather…) **Angelic*, Tiny Q, **and** LoPotter.**  

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! ****


	13. Unforgivable Curses

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns nearly everything.  
  
A/N: Just a warning: this an un-beta'd version. I'm not sure where my beta- reader pranced off to, and I didn't have time to re-read it myself since my disk crashed, and I'd already written more than half this chapter and had to write it all in one day while putting off my homework. So please forgive little grammar mistakes.  
  
1  
  
2 Chapter Thirteen  
  
Unforgivable Curses  
  
Ginny was beyond happy and relieved as she stared down at the Various Veritaserum book in her hands. It was a large book, bound in brown leather with gold lettering, but other than that the cover was blank. Though it felt heavy in her grasp, she instantly fell in love with it. This was her key to clearing her name.  
  
I'll give it to Dumbledore, she quickly figured, gazing fondly down at it. Yes, that's what I'll do. And he'll help me get a re-trial. Or maybe he'll make me another Veritaserum, this one by his own hand, and give it to me. Then Lucius would be caught! He'll go to Azkaban, not me!  
  
She thought nothing could puncture her balloon of happiness at that moment. That was until she heard Draco intake his breath sharply, and when she tore her eyes from the book to see what was wrong, she followed his gaze to the door and felt her heart drop, as if it were made of lead, down into her stomach.  
  
Lord Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy, the two people responsible for ruining Ginny's life, and would probably snuff it out as soon as they got the chance, stood in the doorway.  
  
Ginny could never remember seeing a more disheveled Lucius before. He'd always looked smooth and sleek, perfectly groomed, just like his son. But now he was nearly shaking with compressed rage, his hair sticking up in every direction (reminding Ginny slightly of Harry), glaring viciously at her. Slightly behind him, Voldemort stood composedly, and carefully lowered his hood to reveal his calm, yet dangerous, white face. His red eyes flicked over the mess on the floor the collapsed table made, then over Ginny, resting on the book she gripped in her fingers.  
  
She panicked instantly, realizing that they were going to take the book from her. They know I'll use it against Lucius, she thought. They'll take it and destroy it and I'll have no evidence against them.  
  
She then figured that she had a lot more to worry about than the book. Like her life, for example. There was no way Voldemort would let her walk away alive.  
  
Draco moved to step in front of Ginny, blocking her from the view of the two men in the doorway. More importantly, he was blocking the book from their vision.  
  
He wants me to hide it, she realized, getting the message. But where could she? Every suitable place wouldn't be hidden by Draco's body. They'd see exactly where she hid it. Even if they didn't, all they'd have to do was use the Summoning Charm and it'd be in their hands in an instant.  
  
She quickly decided to hide it on her. It was so bulky a book it'd clearly be outlined in her clothes, so she went for her wand and whispered a Shrinking Charm on it. When it was small enough to fit in her pocket, she slipped it in. Glancing down, though, she noticed it was still visible. And she couldn't have that.  
  
So she used the Shrinking Charm again, and let it shrink until even when she put a hand in her pocket she could barely feel it. It must be the size of a pea, she guessed, and tucked her wand away in her back pocket.  
  
"Fancy seeing you here," Draco sneered, the first to break the silence.  
  
"I'm rather more surprised to see your son here, Lucius," Voldemort said slickly, and even though he turned his head towards Lucius, he kept his eyes on Draco. "I thought you'd have raised a better child . . ."  
  
Lucius looked panicked for a moment, but then locked his stare on Draco, narrowing his eyes nearly to slits. "I'm not sure what went wrong with him, My Lord," he replied. "His mother must've been too soft on him."  
  
"Then you should've disposed of her," Voldemort answered. "You have better judgment than that, Lucius."  
  
"Quite -" Lucius started, his eyes widening as he realized he'd displeased his lord.  
  
Ginny, who saw Draco stiffen at the comment about his mother, stepped out from behind him. She wasn't sure where she found the courage, but somehow she heard herself snapping, "And you'd reckon that you'd have the judgment to change the password to get down here once you figured out that Draco wasn't on your side anymore."  
  
Draco shot her a blank look while Lucius glared venomously at her. Voldemort's lazy eyes widened slightly and he purred, "She does have a point."  
  
"I - I did not think -" Lucius stuttered, trying to explain.  
  
"Clearly," Lord Voldemort scoffed. Lucius sputtered some more, but Voldemort was already moving on to a different subject. "Now," he said as simply as if they were merely settling a small quarrel. "Where is this book?"  
  
"The - the girl has it," Lucius spat out.  
  
Ginny wasn't sure where all her bravery went. She was unable to answer. Now would be a good time to know how to act, she thought. To tell them that I don't know what book they're talking about.  
  
Draco said it for her. "What book?" he demanded.  
  
"Don't play a fool, Draco," Lucius snarled.  
  
"No, that's your job, isn't it?" Draco shot back.  
  
"We saw it the girl's hands just moments ago," Voldemort interrupted coolly.  
  
"Right before you stepped in front of her," Lucius added, obviously trying not to get so angry at Draco's comment.  
  
Draco glanced over at Ginny, swiftly running his gaze over her. When he turned back, he lifted his chin slightly and replied smoothly, "As you can see, she has no book."  
  
"She must've done something with it!" Lucius declared. "Do you reckon we're stupid, Draco?"  
  
Draco muttered something Ginny couldn't understand. Then, without warning, his father shot forward. He shoved Draco out of the way violently, and so quickly Ginny blinked and he'd gone from standing next to her to falling against the wall. His slammed his palms against it, attempting to rebalance.  
  
She opened her mouth to say something - she wasn't sure what or to whom, maybe to ask if Draco was all right - but she was aware that now Lucius stood beside her instead of him.  
  
So what? she thought. Forget him - go over to Draco.  
  
She was just about to do that when Lucius grabbed her by her upper arms, his grip like iron - cold and hard. While Draco was stepping away from the wall, his wary stare on Voldemort, Lucius shoved Ginny against the stone an arms length away from where Draco was.  
  
Lucius used such force that Ginny's head snapped back, slamming against the hard wall, and she bit her tongue painfully. She had to blink several times to get rid of the red mixed with stars that danced in front of her eyes. When she finally could see and think straight, she saw that Lucius had her pinned, his arm pressed diagonally across her chest and holding her there. His elbow dug into her lower shoulder, and combining that with her throbbing head she did not feel very well.  
  
Draco must've heard because he turned his head back towards them and away from Voldemort. Ginny met his eyes for a second, seeing fury in them, and felt grateful that he was nearby. He had barely taken one stride when out of nowhere ropes slid around his wrists, then around his ankles and pulling them together. This caused Draco to trip and fall face forward, unable to break the descent since his hands were bound.  
  
He didn't make a noise when he struck the ground, but after a moment he moaned and rolled onto his back. Ginny heard a sob escape her throat when she saw his face - he must've landed hard on his nose, because blood was pouring down, running over his lips and off his chin, smeared on his cheeks. His eyes had been closed, but when he got onto his back he opened them and did not make another sound. Then he started to struggle into a sitting position, avoiding Ginny's gaze, even though she wished, wished, wished he'd look over at her.  
  
But then Lucius seemed to dig his elbow into her further, and swallowing another sob and trying to blink the tears out of her eyes, she returned her attention to him.  
  
"Where is the book?" he demanded, his eyes narrowed at her. He seemed to be communicating silently with her - warning her not to mess with him. He's dangerous, she thought. He's trying to remind me of that.  
  
It was amazing what one little look could say.  
  
"Wh - what book?" she managed to ask.  
  
Real smooth, she told herself, horrified at how her voice cracked.  
  
Lucius actually snarled at her. He curled his upper lip to reveal his teeth, and Ginny wouldn't have been more surprised if he'd growled. Instead he snapped, "You know what I'm talking about."  
  
"I don't." At least that sentence she managed to say without faltering.  
  
Grabbing a handful of her shirt, he shook her aggressively, so hard that she nearly hit her head once again. When she smashed back against the wall she heard a little cry of pain escape her lips, and wished desperately that she wasn't acting like such a coward.  
  
Lucius instantly reached up his free hand and placed it underneath her jaw, wrapped firmly around her throat and applying slight pressure. Ginny's face was forced upwards and she found herself staring at the ceiling, tears burning under her eyelids. It took all of her strength to not cry.  
  
"Give me the book," he ordered brutally, "now. Or I'll find it myself."  
  
"I don't have it," she whispered thickly.  
  
"You lie!" Lucius shouted.  
  
"Lucius," Voldemort's voice cut in softly and menacingly. "I believe that is enough."  
  
He's sticking up for me? she wondered dazedly. No, he's probably got something else under his sleeve.  
  
"She has the book, my Lord!" Lucius said, still screaming. Ginny flinched since he was practically shrieking in her ear. "She's just telling us lies! I saw her with it and she'll use it against -"  
  
"Did it ever dawn on you," Voldemort said coldly, "that you can acquire the book after she is dead?"  
  
"No, my Lord, we can't wait until then -"  
  
"Bring her to me, Lucius." Voldemort used the tone of someone speaking to a young, insolent child.  
  
"But my Lord -"  
  
"Now."  
  
He left no room for argument. Slowly, Lucius lowered his hand from Ginny's neck and removed his arm. She quickly wiped at her eyes, then rubbed the spot where his elbow had dug into her shoulder. Before she had a chance to really breathe a sigh of relief that Lucius wasn't in her face anymore, he grabbed her in his steely grasp and yanked her forward.  
  
Ginny actually struggled to get free. She pulled back, most of her weight on her heels, trying to pull away. Lucius tugged right back. If she had been watching, and hadn't thought the situation was so non-humorous, she might've laughed. It was like a mother trying to pull her young son into the classroom on the first day of pre-wizard school.  
  
But with one final jerk, Lucius managed to pull her right where he wanted - just before Voldemort. When she was there, and Lucius had stepped to the side, she thought she'd look too cowardly, like she was fleeing, if she ran from the spot. Plus, her muscles seemed to have locked in place, and she couldn't get her legs to carry her away.  
  
Ginny was terrified. And she'd been afraid before; knew what it was like. She was familiar with the racing pulse and the pounding heart, which could go from beating quickly to slow steady thumps. She had experienced the sweaty skin, as the air suddenly became much warmer, and the prickling of the hairs on the back of her neck. She'd felt her mind shut down and jump to irrational thoughts, making everything seem much more dangerous than it really was (but the situation she was in couldn't get any more dangerous). She knew what it was like to hear the silence ringing in her ears, her senses perked up, trying to hear, see, smell, feel . . . anything before it happened. She knew the feeling that the air was closing in on her, and that she couldn't get enough oxygen, therefore breathing harshly and raggedly.  
  
All those things she'd felt before and was familiar with.  
  
She was not used to thoughts about Draco.  
  
Draco Malfoy, who had been her enemy until a mere few days ago. Now he'd dug himself under her skin and made himself apart of her. Somehow, he'd wormed his way into her life and there was no way she could forget about him, even if he evaporated into air that instant.  
  
She jerked her eyes from Voldemort and glanced over her shoulder at him. He was sitting across the room, and was working on the ropes around his wrists, trying to free himself. The rope was stained red, and Ginny couldn't tell if it was from the blood that dripped off his face or because he was cutting himself attempting to get undone. Either way, his face was unnaturally white, except for the lower part which was covered with crimson blood, and she could tell he was in pain. At that moment she'd never wanted to do anything but run over and help him. She wanted nothing more than to take his pain away.  
  
Watching him work, watching him grit his teeth to keep from crying out from the tight cords around his wrists, she was suddenly filled with a sense of compassion. She realized he wasn't trying to get free to save himself - he was trying to get out to help her. He wasn't even thinking twice about it - he was just doing it.  
  
That wasn't a natural Draco Malfoy reaction, was it?  
  
Ginny wasn't all too clear on his feelings for her, but at that moment she had never been more positive hers for him. It might not have been love, since she had never experienced love before, but it had to be something pretty close. She'd definitely changed her perspective on him since the time they'd went to school together.  
  
Why? Was it because she knew what a great person, deep down, perhaps way deep down, he really was?  
  
And when had her feelings for him changed? When he'd gazed so tenderly into her eyes after their first kiss? When he'd kissed her so fiercely, so full of passion, on her front porch?  
  
No, it wasn't either of those times.  
  
It was the moment he pulled her from the seawater after the Cell Bus sank.  
  
By doing that, he'd risked everything. He'd changed his world and he'd known it. Helping a Weasley, not to mention a Weasley his own father had sent to Azkaban on purpose, put his own life in jeopardy. He'd taken a chance of altering his safety and comfort to help her.  
  
And Ginny would never be able to thank him for that. Nothing she could do or say could ever express how she felt about it. But if they made it out of there alive, she planned on trying to.  
  
"I'm right here, Virginia," Voldemort snapped, his cold tone slicing into her thoughts.  
  
She tore her eyes from Draco to stare at him. But she couldn't hold his gaze for long - she had to look back down at the floor.  
  
"Do you know how to perform the Cruciatus Curse?" Voldemort asked casually.  
  
At this Ginny had to snap her head up, trying to figure out what he meant by his question. His face revealed nothing - it was completely blank. How was she supposed to answer that? How did he expect she answered that? What was the point? Should she lie and say she did? But what would that gain her? Nothing.  
  
"They teach you about the Unforgivable Curses at Hogwarts, do they not?" he pressed.  
  
"Master, she is the daughter of Arthur Weasely!" Lucius broke in. "There's no way in hell he'd teach his daughter an Unfor -"  
  
"Lucius, you are bothering me," Voldemort said calmly. "If you speak again I will slice off your fingers, do you understand?"  
  
Lucius turned a fresh shade of green before swallowing and nodding.  
  
Ginny, meanwhile, was contemplating what Voldemort had asked. Of course they'd taught her the Unforgivable Curses at Hogwarts. But they'd never taught how to perform them. Ginny knew to perform the Cruciatus Curse she said, Crucio, but there was more to it than that. There was a certain way to wave the wand, to pronounce each syllable. And Hogwarts had definitely never taught students how to do that.  
  
"So far I've asked you two questions," Voldemort said in a low, angry voice, "and I haven't received an answer. So I'll ask you one more time - do you know how to perform the Cruciatus Curse?"  
  
"No," Ginny blurted.  
  
Voldemort gazed at her a moment before muttering, "Pity."  
  
Why? she wondered, a bit curious despite herself. Why is it a pity?  
  
Yet Voldemort did not explain for a long while. Minutes passed, but they seemed like hours to Ginny. Voldemort was lost in his own thoughts, but he clearly knew that Draco was attempting to get free. Lucius must've noticed, too, but they didn't see it as a threat so they let it be.  
  
That must mean there's no way Draco's getting out of those ropes, Ginny realized. He's only hurting himself by doing that.  
  
She longed to tell him that, but maybe Lucius and Voldemort really weren't paying that much attention. Maybe he did have a chance.  
  
"I am going to make you a deal," Voldemort drawled finally, looking thoughtful.  
  
A deal? And I'm going to trust you on it? she wondered incredulously. She almost snorted in disgust.  
  
"If you use the Cruciatus Curse on Lucius," he began slowly, "then I will let you leave."  
  
Ginny's jaw dropped and she whipped her head to gape at Lucius. He didn't seem too upset by this - in fact, he was nearly sneering. No doubt he knew she would refuse in an instant.  
  
"Or better yet," Voldemort continued, "if you use the Killing Curse on him, I'll let both you and Draco leave . . . in one piece."  
  
One piece? Ginny repeated. Why does that not sound reassuring?  
  
Lucius was still looking confident that she would not agree. And every cell in her body was screaming at her to yell No! instantly, but for some reason she didn't. She actually pretended to consider it.  
  
If she said yes, then she would have a reason to pull out her wand and use it. By doing that, she might be able to create a distraction that would let her and Draco get out alive.  
  
As she opened her mouth, she thought better of it. What sort of distraction would she use? What would be big enough? Any possible spell that would create such a diversion would take several seconds to assemble, and by then Voldemort would have realized what she was trying to do. He'd disarm her or kill her. The only thing that might work was levitating a piece of wood from the broken table towards Voldemort's face. But even that left some risk, because he might see it in time and block it. Not to mention Lucius was there, and he'd manage to stop them before they left the room.  
  
Plus, she didn't plan on leaving without Draco. How in the world could she create a diversion in less than a second that would disable both Voldemort (the most powerful wizard ever) and Lucius from bringing her plan to a halt, run over, free Draco, then sprint out of the room? Right past, might I add, she thought wryly, Voldemort, who is standing directly in front of the door.  
  
She had to consider her options. One was to say no, I'll never use an Unforgivable Curse on anyone, and be killed instantly or tortured a great deal before being murdered. That would doom both her and Draco. The other choice was to say yes, I'll try, and use her wand. But to do what? What could she do? Nothing that wouldn't result in getting them killed.  
  
This is hopeless! she realized, frustrated. Either way we'll end up dead! There's no way in hell that Voldemort will keep his end of the deal - most likely he'll kill me instantly after I use an Unforgivable Curse on Lucius.  
  
She shot a swift look at Draco over her shoulder. He was still struggling with his bindings. Ginny fought the urge to cry. He'd always been there for her. It was her turn to be there for him.  
  
But there's nothing I can do! she thought. I have no real options!  
  
"I'm not going to wait forever," Voldemort said impatiently.  
  
Ginny knew she had to hurry. She prayed Draco would look up and meet her gaze, just so she could feel a bit reassured by his eyes. But he continued with the ropes, as if oblivious to what was happening across the room.  
  
What am I going to do? she wondered, lost. She felt useless; pathetic. Even though she knew this was a situation even the strongest of wizards couldn't escape, she still felt dumb that she couldn't think of something that would get them out unscarred.  
  
Draco let out a smothered cry of pain, biting his bloodied lower lip, and Ginny forced to turn back to the man before her. She couldn't do anything. They're both watching me, she thought. Not even one of them is watching Draco to make sure that he's still bound.  
  
The only thing she could do was say no, she would not use an Unforgivable Curse. She opened her mouth again to answer when a thought flashed back through her mind.  
  
Not even one of them is watching Draco.  
  
She jerked her head around to watch him once more. Of course! That was it! Why she hadn't thought of it sooner she didn't know. Draco still had his wand and he wasn't being watched - the only thing he had holding him back were those ropes. If she could somehow free him then he could create the distraction . . .  
  
Yet, once again, how could she? She couldn't very well pull out her wand, spin around, shout out the words to rid Draco of the ropes, then turn back around and go about pretending to use an Unforgivable Curse on Lucius like nothing had happened. That would only result in Voldemort taking both Ginny's wand and Draco's, and they'd be killed.  
  
Everything results in death! she thought angrily.  
  
She suddenly remembered that her wand was in her back pocket. Maybe, if she was slick enough, she could pull it out behind her back and point it at Draco and whisper the spell to free him from his bindings.  
  
Yes! That was it! It was worth the try, wasn't it?  
  
No, it's too risky, another voice in her head argued. Voldemort's not an idiot - he's bound to realize what you're doing.  
  
A risk? Well, Draco had taken a major risk when he'd saved her from drowning, hadn't he? Now it was her turn to take the risk. Not to mention that no matter what she did she'd end up being killed. This way she just had a slight chance that she'd manage to do it without him noticing.  
  
"All right," Voldemort began, "you refused -"  
  
Lucius looked so smug Ginny got the tiniest bit of pleasure by blurting out, "I'll try. I'll do it." Looking at him pointedly, just wanting to see him sweat it, she added, "I'll try the Killing Curse."  
  
At this, Lucius turned several shades - green, to bright red, to pink, and finally going white. He struggled to swallow, his mouth opening and closing several times as if he wanted to protest but then seemed to remember Voldemort's threat about his fingers. His eyes darted nervously between Voldemort to Ginny before resting on Voldemort, as if pleading for him to spare his life.  
  
Even though I'm not really going to kill you, Ginny thought, it serves you right to be afraid. This is what happens when you become a Death Eater - the Dark Lord won't think twice about murdering you.  
  
She glanced at Draco one final time to see him staring over at them, his mouth slightly open. He was obviously amazed that Ginny had actually agreed to try the Killing Curse on someone. You should know that I won't, she told him silently.  
  
"Very good," Voldemort murmured, his scarlet eyes dancing.  
  
"Let me get my wand," Ginny said so he wouldn't think otherwise when she reached into her back pocket.  
  
She slid her arms around to her back, hidden beneath her cloak that flowed down nearly to her ankles. Feeling the wand grasped in her fingers she instantly felt better. She slid it out of her pocket carefully, acting as though she was having trouble with it. "Dumb wand . . ." she murmured, making sure the Dark Lord could only hear snippets of her mutterings, "never comes out right . . ."  
  
It was already out of her pocket, though. She turned it around and pointed it in the general direction Draco was sitting in, the tip of it barely evident through her cloak. Then, in her quietest voice, so quiet she could barely even hear herself, she whispered, "Loosivia."  
  
She looked up sharply to see if Voldemort had heard. He continued smiling smugly and icily at her; Lucius continued to gawk and sweat with anxious fear. Surely if they'd noticed her using a spell they would've done something?  
  
Feeling a bit more confident, and a lot more relieved, as if though a huge weight had been lifted off her chest, she pulled her wand back out from behind her. Then she turned to face Lucius, who almost cringed back away from her. It almost made everything seem worth it - the feeling of power she now had over him.  
  
Whose afraid now, Lucius? she thought, twisting her lips into a cruel smile as a finishing touch for her act. Now if Draco will create a distraction I won't have to pretend to kill you anymore.  
  
* * *  
  
Draco knew he was gaping, but he couldn't help it. Ginny had actually agreed to try and kill his father?  
  
But then Ginny had glanced back and caught his eye. In that instant he knew - he knew that she would never kill him. She was just saying yes to buy some time. Or because she was plotting something.  
  
What are you thinking? he wondered. Whatever it is, you'd better hurry up, because I can't feel my fingers at all. And all this blood on my face is getting very annoying. I'm swallowing it by the tons.  
  
He was also in a lot of pain. His whole face throbbed, having fallen on his nose, most likely breaking it, and his teeth crashing into the insides of his lips. He imagined that when and if he smiled, his teeth would be bright red.  
  
Definitely not attractive.  
  
He couldn't feel his feet since the ropes were so tightly wrapped around his ankles it was cutting of circulation. And his fingers were achingly stiff - he couldn't really feel them, but they did sort of hurt.  
  
On the bright side, his wrists suddenly felt a lot looser.  
  
Wait a minute, he thought, frowning in confusion. How can my wrists feel looser?  
  
He glanced down, and at first he thought he must have been imagining it. The ropes appeared to have disappeared. Slowly, unbelieving, he pulled his hands apart with no problem. The outsides of his wrists were pretty sliced up but not too horribly. Blood caked his hands, sinking into his fingernail beds and underneath the nails themselves. He flexed his fingers, trying to get some feeling and blood coursing through them again.  
  
Looking at his feet he discovered that the ankle ropes were gone as well.  
  
Ginny must've done this, he figured. When she took her wand out she must've somehow gotten rid of the ropes.  
  
Voldemort had his eyes on Ginny, and Lucius was busy staring at Ginny's wand. Neither of them noticed he was free, but he still couldn't stand up. Then they'd definitely notice.  
  
Ginny had freed him for a reason. She wanted him to do something. Obviously - get them out alive.  
  
That's always my job, he couldn't help but think, rolling his eyes. Yet he reached for his wand, his mind racing to think of something to do. What spell could he do that would defeat the Dark Lord - or at least, make him unable to stop them from leaving?  
  
I'll have to distract him somehow, he recognized.  
  
Now, Voldemort's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Well?" he snapped, causing Draco to turn his head to see what was going on. He was talking to Ginny. "Go on. Don't just stand there."  
  
Ginny took a deep breath. Draco knew she wouldn't dare look over at him for fear that it would cause suspicion and Voldemort would look over as well. Then, she raised her wand even higher and opened her mouth. "Av - Avada - Avada - da," she sputtered in a quiet and weak voice.  
  
Voldemort looked annoyed; Lucius brightened considerably. Draco had never seen his father so frightened before, and he actually hadn't minded it that much.  
  
"You can't stutter!" Voldemort said snappishly. "You stupid girl, you have to say it clearly. Must I demonstrate on Draco for you?"  
  
Fortunately, no one looked over at him when Voldemort said this. Ginny swallowed thickly and nodded, turning her attention back to Lucius.  
  
I guess I should do something before she is forced to kill my father, Draco thought with a smirk. He held his wand in his hand, grasping it hard. Now . . . what was he to do?  
  
His eyes fell on the mess of the collapsed table. Well, if he could somehow use magic to heave all the pieces towards Voldemort and his father . . . but then, Ginny would be caught in it too. Also, the Dark Lord was likely to see it and somehow prevent it.  
  
If only they could fall from above, he thought, frowning now. Then Voldemort wouldn't see it until it was too late.  
  
He raised his eyes to the ceiling. It was then he was struck with the most obvious, most ingenious idea. A grin started to spread over his face. It was worth a try, wasn't it? And who knew - it just might work for the purpose he wanted.  
  
But he'd have to be quick about it. He couldn't jump to his feet - that would take too long. And he had to be sure that Ginny would be safe . . .  
  
"Avada," Ginny started again, then paused. She took a very deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Avada Kedrava," she repeated slowly and clearly.  
  
Draco quickly snapped his attention to Lucius. He was wincing, as if expecting to fall dead at any moment. But, since Ginny had no idea how to perform an Unforgivable Curse, it hadn't worked. She hadn't done it correctly.  
  
Both her and Lucius seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.  
  
"Try again," Voldemort said quickly.  
  
"But my Lord -" Lucius started.  
  
Voldemort fixed his bright red eyes on him. "One more word, Lucius," he hissed threateningly. "Just one."  
  
Lucius went into silence.  
  
Okay, I guess now would be the right time, Draco thought.  
  
Ginny raised her wand once more and took another breath. "Avada -"  
  
"Clurashio!" Draco hissed, his wand pointed upward. He moved it to the ceiling above Lucius and whispered the same thing.  
  
He watched at the effect the spell had. The ceiling above both Lucius and Voldemort crumbled into several pieces. It rained down on them like a storm of fine powder, clumps of stone, and dust.  
  
The ceiling began to crack in half, sprinkling dust all over the floor. It rose up in clouds, and soon the room became thick with it. Draco was having trouble seeing, but jumped to his feet. He started panicking - what if Ginny got hurt by accident?  
  
He ran blindly towards where she had been standing. Now the room was misted with thick dust and Draco could barely see his busted nose in front of him, much less anyone else. He could hear Lucius shouting obscenities, the loud thuds the pieces of stone made on the floor. But both Ginny and Voldemort were silent.  
  
Draco's heart sped up. Oh, God, had he made a mistake? Had Voldemort snatched Ginny and left the room? Is that why they weren't making any noises?  
  
But then he heard her, and he'd never been so grateful to hear her voice. "Draco!" she called, though it was impossible to tell which way her voice was coming from. "Draco, where are you?"  
  
Draco almost opened his mouth to yell, "Go to the door!" Yet then Voldemort and Lucius would overhear, and they'd intercept them. He would just have to find Ginny on his own, and together they'd leave.  
  
There was something nagging in the pit of his stomach. Where is Voldemort? he wondered, feeling around blindly for Ginny. He had his eyes shut so nothing would get in them, though it wasn't like he could've saw anything more if they were open.  
  
"Draco?" Ginny's voice sounded a bit panicked now.  
  
"I'm here," he replied. Then he felt hands on him - delicate, gentle hands that he instantly recognized as hers. He let out a sigh of gratefulness and grabbed her hand firmly. "Come on, let's get . . ." He stopped, coughing violently as dust got into his throat.  
  
"Out of here," she finished, and he could almost hear her smile.  
  
They somehow found the door with no problems. When they emerged from the room they didn't hesitate - they broke out into a full run, holding hands. Draco had to remember how to get out of there quickly, since they came to new turns much quicker than they did if they'd been walking.  
  
"Draco," Ginny panted after a while. "Draco, I think we're safe now -"  
  
"Not yet," he argued, tugging on her hand a bit. "Come on, we've got to get out of this house."  
  
And they continued to run.  
  
* * *  
  
I'll do thank yous next chapter . . . but thanks to all those who did review! 


	14. Attractiveness and Forgiveness

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it A/N: Quite clearly you all love snogs, so I managed to put some in this chapter. Enjoy :) And thanks to Christine! Chapter Fourteen _Attractiveness and Forgiveness_

Draco was hopelessly lost. 

He tried to tell himself he wasn't, that he knew exactly where they were going. He tried to ignore the feeling of despair in the pit of his stomach. But it was there, and it was reminding him that he had absolutely no idea where they were. 

_I've got to know!_ he thought. _We can't get lost down here – we just can't._

"Draco," Ginny panted. "I can't keep up with you . . ." 

He could feel her starting to slow down. Now he was in the lead, pulling her along by her hand, listening to her ragged breaths and thudding footsteps behind him. And yet he still forced her to run. 

Draco slowed to a walk, realizing that Ginny really was exhausted. "Not too much longer," he muttered under his breath, lying. He couldn't let her know that he didn't know where they were. She'd only panic and he couldn't have a panicking girl on his hands. That would be too much. 

The more they hurried along, the more Draco began to figure that _he_ would be the one who started to panic before she did. He hated the feeling. He'd never panicked in his life, and he didn't want to start now. Not when he was the only one who could get them out of the tunnels below his house alive. 

Minutes passed. Ginny didn't say anything and managed to keep up with his long strides. Her hand was starting to feel sweaty in his but he didn't release it. 

"Are you sure this is the right way?" she finally asked. 

Draco stopped abruptly. She somehow stopped with him, turning her head to stare at him. He forced himself to meet her gaze. Her brown eyes stared trustingly into his, waiting for him to answer. His face was blank, but she suddenly knew the answer. In a moment her expression had turned from frightened to angry. 

"We're lost?!" she shrieked at him accusingly. 

"Well, I'm sorry!" he exploded back at her, dropping her hand. "Maybe _you'd_ like to figure out how to get out of here while running full speed?" 

He turned and began stalking furiously down the tunnel. Ginny rushed after him. "I didn't mean to get you upset," she said, practically jogging to keep up. "But . . . it's just . . . well, you said that this is like Gringotts, and if we're lost that means we'll be wandering down here . . ." 

"Forever. Yes, I know, you didn't need to remind me," he sneered. 

"Will you stop and look at me?" she demanded shrilly. "If we keep walking we'll just get more lost." 

He quit moving and spun around to face her. "Okay, I've stopped. What now?" 

She looked uncertainly at him, as if afraid she would anger him more. "Don't be mad," she said quietly. "This isn't the time. We won't have any chance of getting out of here unless you calm down." 

For some reason that annoyed him. He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to think of some stinging comment that would shut her up. But then he heard footsteps that didn't belong to either of them, considering they weren't even moving anymore. 

Ginny heard it, too, and whipped her head around to try and decide which direction it was coming from. Draco knew instantly it was coming from the way they'd arrived, and the only route they could take was to go forward down the tunnel. Reaching out for her wrist, he whispered, "Come on." 

This time they walked hastily, but they didn't run. Ginny kept glancing behind them to make sure whomever the footsteps belonged to wasn't close enough to be seen yet. 

Draco felt unusually calm, but as he squeezed Ginny's wrist tighter he could feel her trembling. He didn't have time to dwell on it, yet he had the sudden urge to stop and wrap his arms around her to ease her shaking. 

"Who do you reckon it is?" Ginny whispered urgently. "Are they after us?" 

"Of course they are," Draco replied harshly. "And most likely it's my father. Probably has Voldemort with him. Can't you go any faster?" He glanced at her over his shoulder and received a look in return that clearly said, _Shut up, Draco._

Unless his ears weren't working properly, it sounded like the footsteps were coming closer. The closer they sounded the more it seemed as though there were two pairs of feet, confirming his theory on it being his father with the Dark Lord. It still wasn't much more comforting. 

They turned down another tunnel. Draco was hoping to lose them, though he couldn't help but realize that the more he tried to throw them off, the more lost he became. He gave up on counting the turns they made, on the corridors they passed through and left. _I'd much rather starve to death down here_, he thought, _than have Voldemort torture and kill me._

But what about Ginny? She finally had a chance to get her name cleared and live a normal life. Why should it end now? 

Draco made a vow that he would search for a way out until the day they died. 

At the moment, though, he had to figure out a situation to get them away from Voldemort and Lucius. And nothing was coming to mind except, _I have no clue where the hell I am._

"Draco!" Ginny cried sharply, tugging on his arm. He looked back at her, a bit irritated that she was distracting him. Then he followed her gaze and saw that Voldemort and Lucius were now visible behind them. Even though they were quite a few yards away, they were quickly gaining on them, and Draco saw the Dark Lord raise his wand. 

"Shit," Draco muttered. 

"_Avada _-" Voldemort began, though a second too late. Draco was already curving swiftly into another tunnel, pulling Ginny along with him. When he shot a look back over his shoulder he saw the Killing Curse whiz by the corridor opening in a flash of green light and disappear. He heard Lucius swear loudly, then focused his attention on Ginny. 

"Um, run?" she suggested faintly. 

He nodded in agreement. 

So they ran again, and Draco turned into every tunnel possible. At first he thought it had to be working, because Voldemort and Lucius's footsteps seemed to be fading, but maybe it was because his and Ginny's own steps were drowning them out. Either way, he was beginning to feel confident they were getting away. But then – 

"Don't think you can run, Draco," Lucius called. His voice seemed to be magnified, bouncing off the stone walls. "We've planted Tracking Spell on you, you fool." 

A Tracking Spell! Why hadn't he thought of that? And when had they done it? He figured that the only time it could've been done was when they were running from that room, and the ceiling was collapsing around them. Voldemort must've somehow put the spell on him when he didn't realize it. 

Draco's heart seemed to sink to his knees. Now he knew they couldn't escape. Ginny was already starting to lag behind; he could feel her beginning to tire. 

_We can't stop_, he thought. _I won't let us give up._

"Draco!" Ginny exclaimed suddenly, tugging on his arm to get him to stop. 

"We can't stop, Ginny –" he began, annoyed, twisting around to yank her along. He would carry her if he had to. Then he noticed why she'd paused. 

"Look," she said, pointing at a spot on the wall a little ways behind them. She dragged him back. "It's a door!" 

Sure enough it was. A rather small wooden door in the wall with a metal knob. Draco had never seen it before, since he clearly had never been down this corridor before, but he hadn't suspected that there were any other rooms besides the one his father used. He tried turning the knob and found it locked. 

Ginny pressed her ear against it and listened for a moment. Then her eyes widened. "Listen!" she told him. Feeling rather stupid, he did as she ordered and listened to what was on the other side. An odd sound greeted him. It sounded almost like . . . like rushing water . . . 

"Water," he said simply, straightening and moving his head away from the door. Now, another noise filled his ears – the sound of Voldemort and Lucius's approaching feet. 

"Yes, water," she agreed, nodding. "Draco, water is the only thing that can rid a person of a Tracking Spell!" 

He stared blankly at her for a minute before realizing she was right. Tracking Spells were only taught to select people – people who needed to use them for their jobs and such. Draco had never learned how to disable one before, though he did remember learning at Hogwarts that water could put a damper on such magic. 

"We'll go in here," Ginny whispered quickly, aware as Draco was of how much closer the Dark Lord and Lucius were getting, "and you can get rid of the spell. Okay?" 

"Not okay," he replied, frowning. "This door is locked for a reason, I hate to tell you." 

She looked into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity, but couldn't have been more than a few seconds. They could both hear the approach of the two men who wanted to kill them, their footfalls echoing in their mind, and still they stared at each other. 

Many emotions ran through Draco at that moment. He felt compassion, hurt, anger, frustration . . . all at the same time. Finally, he settled on a decision and tore his eyes from Ginny's. He reached for his wand and turned to the door. "_Alohomora!_" he declared, and watched the door bounce open. 

It was dark inside. Draco rapidly lit up his wand then went in first, followed by Ginny. She shut the door firmly behind them, using a Locking Curse on it. _As if that will hold the most powerful wizard in the world,_ he thought, rolling his eyes. 

His wandlight revealed a rather small stone chamber, shaped like an upside down bowl. It was empty, but across the room was a creek. It couldn't have been wider than the length of Draco's arm. Though it trickled along the opposite wall, it wasn't the rushing water they'd heard. Because now Draco could hear it a lot clearer, and it wasn't coming from the creek. It was coming from somewhere else. 

"Where is it?" Ginny whispered, staying close to Draco. 

"I don't know," he answered, striding across to the creek. He could see the bottom plainly, and when he put one foot in the water only reached to his ankle. 

He looked up to see where it was flowing. It couldn't begin and end in that chamber alone, he knew, so there had to be some source. To his surprise and relief, in each direction, from where the creek was coming from and going to, was a long, dark passageway leading somewhere. The passageways were so narrow, it was about as wide was the stream was. 

Ginny joined Draco at his side. "There must be more water that way," she said softly, pointing in the route the creek was flowing in. "I can hear it." 

She was right. The noise of rushing, pounding water was coming from the way the stream was leading to. Draco made his decision in an instant. He grabbed her hand firmly and said gruffly, "All right, keep up." 

He put his other foot in the water and began walking along with the current. Ginny splashed in behind him, having to walk following him because of how narrow the passage was. 

"I don't think this bit of water will throw the Tracking Spell off," Draco said to her without turning his head. 

"But this little river must lead to a lake or some body of water where you can submerge yourself," she told him, slightly breathless. 

"Maybe," he answered distractedly. 

He held his wand as high above him as he could without hitting the low ceiling, but it only lit up a few yards ahead of them. After that it was pure darkness and they couldn't see a thing. Draco figured that if anything dangerous were coming, they'd be able to see it once the wandlight hit it. 

He was wrong. 

The walls were made of black stone. There was a sudden drop that Draco did not see, for he hadn't been looking down, and since the blackness continued from where he could distinguish, he didn't notice it. He did not see that the creek suddenly dropped and made a tiny trickling water fall down into a pitch dark hole . . . 

One minute they were half-jogging, half-running, Ginny starting to say, "How much lo –" and the next, nothing was beneath their feet and they were falling through the air. 

It took Draco a moment to fully grasp what was happening. He quickly shoved his wand into his pocket so he wouldn't drop it. His stomach dropped and his heart seemed to jump in his throat, cutting off any screams he might've made. Ginny's own shrieks began to fill the air around him, and he felt her clawing at him, trying to grab his arm. 

Draco blinked, but all he could see was darkness. _Oh God_, he thought. _We've fallen into a bottomless pit!_

He might've been jumping to conclusions, but that was all he could think of. Panic seemed to engulf him, and blindly he reached out and tried to grip anything at all. His palm scraped against rough, uneven stone that he couldn't see, and it stung. He let out a cry of pain and yanked his hand away, hoping he hadn't cut the skin. 

They fell for what seemed like forever, though in actuality it couldn't have been more than twenty seconds. Ginny quit screaming after a moment, but managed to find his arm, hugging it to her. Then she started shouting again. Draco wished she would shut up. There was no doubt in his mind that Voldemort and Lucius could hear her and know where they had gone. 

But he could understand her fright. _He_ was afraid as well. And he barely ever was afraid. That's what scared him most. They were falling, down towards who knows what, going deeper and deeper into the earth, farther away from the surface in which they needed to get to. 

And where would they land? On concrete? Though only a few seconds had passed since they'd been tumbling through the air, they'd gained enough momentuem to really injure themselves if they hit a hard ground. 

There was also the possibility that they'd fall forever. Or that they'd land on spikes sticking up from the ground, impale themselves and die instantly. 

None of that happened. Instead, the pounding of water filled Draco's head, and an instant later he stopped falling. Now, not air surrounded him, but water did. He had fallen into a some sort of pool. 

Ginny released his arm. He opened his eyes, but since there were so many bubbles from his splash he could not see her. For a minute he felt sort of disoriented and he didn't move. Then his brain started to function again and he kicked to the surface. It was farther away than he had anticipated, but he reached it rather quickly. 

Breathing in oxygen, he tossed his head to get his wet hair out of his eyes. He treaded water, looking around for Ginny. He didn't see her, yet then he was too busy looking at his surroundings to worry. 

He was in another stone chamber, slightly bigger than the previous one, and lit with candles floating in the air near the top. The entire floor was one big pool. There was no solid ground anywhere. The only stone made up the walls and the ceiling. And at the far end of the chamber there was a wide opening, sort of like an arched door. It was dark and hard to see where it led to, but the current in the lake was going towards it. 

_The current is a little _too_ strong, actually, for this pool,_ Draco mused. He could feel it start to pull him along, start to drag him towards the dark opening. _Where does it lead?_

Then it hit him. It was a _waterfall_. The rushing, pounding water noises he and Ginny had heard had been coming from the waterfall, the waterfall that was made from this pool. There must've been a drop in that black, arched opening. And from the sound the water made as it crashed over from the lake, then hit some sort of barrier below, it must've been one long drop. 

Draco's heart seemed to quit beating, then start up again. With each passing moment the current was pulling him closer to it, closer towards the opening, closer towards falling over the edge. 

And he was tired of falling. 

He suddenly heard the sound of someone gasping, and turned his head to see Ginny breaking to the surface just a little ways away from him. She glanced around quickly, and when her gaze fell on the opening, and she heard the pounding sound of the water, her eyes widened. 

"Swim!" Draco commanded, turning and starting to stroke away from the opening. 

"It's - it's a waterfall!" Ginny cried, seeming too stunned to figure out what he was saying. 

"Yeah, I know," he snapped. "And if you didn't notice - blurgh -" He spit out a mouthful of water "- if we don't _swim_ away from it, we'll be falling _over_ the waterfall." 

She nodded, twisting around in the water and starting to kick in the opposite direction. 

Draco was beginning to tire already, and he'd barely even started. He tried to pump his arms and legs faster, but when he looked up he realized that the current was too strong - it was only pulling them closer. 

"Draco!" Ginny yelled. "I - I don't think . . ." 

"Just keep swimming!" he shouted back sharply. 

So they did. Though it was beyond hopeless. They couldn't swim like that forever, and there was no place, no ledge, to get out of the water onto. The place where they'd fallen from was just a hole in the ceiling, and it was way too far up to get in. Not to mention that there was no means they could climb back up, being there no footholes or hand grips. 

_My wand_, he thought. He could use magic and somehow levitate them out of the water. Of course, he couldn't levitate both himself and Ginny, but maybe if _she_ used her wand and raised him . . . 

Using one arm to try and swim, he reached with his other down under the surface into his pocket, grabbing his wand. He began to pull it out, but it caught on the edge of his cloak and slipped from his grasp. And suddenly it was gone. 

_That's okay_, he told himself. _Wands float . . . it'll pop back up to the surface in a minute._

He continued to swim, but looked around for his wand to resurface. It seemed like hours before he spotted it. Rapidly floating away from him, towards the edge, an arm's length away. _I can reach it,_ he decided, and quit swimming for a moment. He changed directions, finding it much easier to flow with the current than to fight against it. The closer he got to the waterfall the stronger it seemed to get. 

And his wand was just beyond his reach. He kept leaning out and missing it by a hair's length. He didn't notice how close he was getting to the fall. 

"Draco!" Ginny shrieked, noticing what he was doing. "Draco, don't! You'll fall!" 

He paused for a moment, realizing she was right. But they were going to fall no matter what they did. At least he could _attempt_ to get his wand. It was getting closer and closer to going over, and still he couldn't get it! 

Draco let out a cry of frustration. _Damn this!_ he thought. _Damn this whole situation!_

Then the wand went over the edge, disappearing into a rush of water. 

Draco was right behind it. It felt as though a great vacuum sucked him up. He was falling once again, this time surrounded with large droplets of water, bathed in darkness once more. The last thing he heard was Ginny shrieking out his name, and then all he could hear was the pounding of water, throbbing his head. 

_Well_, he thought dryly, _on the bright side, at least I won't be killed by Voldemort or Father._

He wondered if his father knew about the underground pool. If he did, then of course he wouldn't let himself and Voldemort try and follow Draco and Ginny. But if he _didn't_, maybe they would meet the same fate as they would . . . maybe he and the Dark Lord would drown. 

That was just wishful thinking, he figured after a moment. Voldemort would not be killed simply by drowning. He would somehow save himself with magic. 

Then what was happening hit him fully. I'm_ going to die, _Draco realized. _There's always rocks at the bottom of huge waterfalls. And from the sound this one makes it's got to be huge. Also the impact might kill me. I might die as soon as we smack into the surface._

The longer he fell confirmed his suspicions. The drop was horrendous. Draco hated the feeling of waiting for death. He guessed it had to be worse than death itself. The knowledge that he was going to die, that he'd barely begun to live, that it just might be painful, was nerve-wracking and perhaps more painful than the actual dying part. 

He did something he never thought he'd do in his life. He opened his mouth and yelled.   


In those moments, shouting at the top of his lungs like he'd never done before, he had a few regrets. One was not having left the house and gotten as far away from Lucius as possible the moment he graduated Hogwarts. Another was having always tried to best Potter in everything when he should've just given up, should've known that Potter'd always have luck and that damned Dumbledore on his side.

But perhaps the worst one, the one that made his insides wrench from a cause other than what was about to happen to him, was that he'd never taken the chance to get to know Ginny Weasely. Maybe then they'd have had a _little_ time together, time that didn't include running from every wizard and witch in the country. 

All of it was too late now. He was going to die, Ginny with him. There was no way she could avoid the fall. And it was all because Lucius had accused the first person he could have. Yet what was he trying to prove? Why was he protecting Voldemort? It didn't make any sense. Everyone would've believed him if he said the Dark Lord had been torturing him. He could've just said he'd been minding his own business. He didn't have to say that he was a Death Eater. Voldemort tortured many innocent people every day, why would it be any different with Lucius? 

_Funny_, he told himself, _that in my final moments all I can think about is how unfair Ginny's punishment was._

After that all thoughts were wiped from his brain. He hit the water hard, and it knocked the wind out of him. He could feel himself sinking lower and lower under, pushed down by the weight of the water falling from the waterfall. His body was turned over several times, and he attempted to try and swim out of the pressure of the falling water. 

He wasn't sure where he found the strength. He should've been exhausted. But somehow he managed to pull himself up to the surface, bursting out and sucking in air gratefully. Wiping his hair out of his eyes, he quickly looked around, treading water. 

It was very dark. He could barely see a thing. 

Just then, something hit his arm. He started, afraid it was some sort of animal. As he squinted down at it, he realized it was his wand. Gratefully, he grabbed out, nearly grinning with relief. 

Nearly.

He held his wand up while he attempted to keep his head above the surface, it being already still lit. The light barely revealed anything, so whispered quickly, "_Solarixium_."

A small ball of light shot out the end of Draco's wand and floated up into the highest corner of the ceiling. It blossomed into a huge circle and lit the room as effectively as a million candles would have. What he saw now was a massive chamber, larger than the two he'd been in put together, larger than anything he'd ever seen. It went up so high Draco could just barely see the top.

Tucking his wand away, he continued to search around. He'd been right about the waterfall - it _was_ huge. It started near the ceiling, and he figured that's where the dark opening from the previous chamber was. Though it wasn't as wide as he'd expected, perhaps only about as wide as two of his body heights, he'd certainly fallen a long way. 

The water fell into another large pool, about the same size as the other had been. It was full of crystal clear liquid, and it was sort of chilly. Fortunately, it only filled about half of the chamber. The other half was a stone platform. 

  
Draco, extremely grateful to have a way to get out of the water, started to swim towards it. His feet touched the bottom of the pool as he got closer to the ledge and he was able to wade the rest of the way towards it.

It was sort of like a beach - only with freshwater, no waves, and cement instead of sand. The bottom stone made the bottom of the lake, but as the water got shallower, it curved upwards and made the little beach area.

  
He was halfway out, water up to his knees, when he heard a shriek and then a splash behind him. Spinning around, he scanned the bottom of the fall, trying to see if it was Ginny who'd fallen. Of course it had to be her, for she had screamed, though only once. He felt worry rise in his chest when she didn't surface at first, but a few seconds later she came up, coughing and sputtering.

Draco watched, slightly amused, as she slapped the hair out of her face and searched around wildly for him. When she spotted him he could almost hear her sigh of relief, and she started to breaststroke towards him.

Draco turned and continued out of the water, collapsing into a sitting position as soon as he reached the solid ground that wasn't wet. He brought his knees up and rested his elbows on him, burying his face in his hands and trying to catch his breath. A few moments later he heard Ginny plop beside him. 

For a long while there was no sound but the dripping of Draco and Ginny's hair and clothes, their harsh breathing, and the pounding of the waterfall. Finally, she spoke. 

"We're alive," she breathed. 

"Amazingly."

"I thought I was going to die."

  
"So did I."

"Were you scared?"

  
He lowered his hands away from his face and looked at her, finding that she was already staring sideways at him. Her hair was still sopping wet, causing rivelets of water to drip down her face. He could feel the same happening to him.

She stared at him with those brown eyes of hers, those large brown eyes that had seen so much, but still held a touch of innocence in them. Though he didn't answer for at least a minute, she didn't push him or ask him again.

"Yes," he finally admitted. 

For a second she continued to look at him, then she started giggling. A girly giggle that would've annoyed Draco even if she _hadn't_ been laughing at him. But since she was it irritated him ten times more. He'd trusted her enough to tell her and she was _giggling_ at him. 

"Shut up," he snapped, vowing never to tell her anything he was feeling every again. 

"Draco, I'm just kidding," she said, and stopped laughing, even though the grin was still in her voice. "It's just that I didn't really expect you'd tell me." 

"I'm sorry I did," he snarled, glaring out at the water. 

"Don't get mad," she said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you. It just surprised me, that's all." 

He didn't reply. There was a long silence, and he could feel her still staring at him. It only annoyed him greater. "Is there something _interesting_ on my face?" he finally gritted out. 

"No," she said. "I guess near death experiences make you grumpy, huh? Most people get happy, and start jumping around dancing and singing, thrilled that they get to live another day." 

"I am _not_ going to dance and sing," he snapped, still refusing to look at her. 

"I didn't expect you too," she answered. "After all, you're not most people. That's what makes you so attractive, I guess." 

At this comment his eyes went to hers. Surprisingly, she wasn't blushing. She was smiling. "What?" he sneered. "I thought most people found my chiseled features, soft hair, and gorgeous body attractive." 

"You think too highly of yourself," she scoffed. 

"At least I don't like people because they're different," he shot back. 

"Huh?" 

"Forgot what you said already? You told me you found me attractive because I'm not like most people." 

"Oh. That." She paused, lost for words, then brightened. "At least you're not angry at me anymore." 

He smirked. "Yes I am. I'll never tell you a single thing again." 

She frowned at him. Then she grinned and lifted herself up on her knees, walking around behind him. 

"What are you doing?" he asked, starting to turn his head, though in an instant he felt her hands on the sides of his face, forcing him to look foward. 

He suddenly felt her breath at his ear, and stiffened. "Maybe," she whispered softly, "you won't be so grumpy once you're out of these wet clothes." He wasn't sure what to reply to that. Her hands left his head and went around his shoulders, finding his cloak clasp at his throat. She undid it and pulled the garment off, letting it drop to the floor. 

He was highly anticipating more, but she didn't continue. She slid around him and fell into his lap, causing him to grunt with surprise. Her arms wrapped firmly around his neck she grinned at him. "Am I forgiven?" 

"No. All you did was take my cloak off. You think that makes up for laughing at me?" 

Her grin widened. "All right, I'll take off your sweater. Hold your arms up." 

"No, I'll do it," he replied with a smirk, going to take it off, expecting it to come off quickly. Since it was still wet, he had some trouble with it, and when he finally managed to pull it over his head Ginny was smothering giggles once more. Angrily he tossed the article of clothing aside. "All forgiveness that was in my heart just vanished." 

"I'm sorry, it was funny," she said. "Seeing you struggle to get a sweater off. It was so . . . normal." 

"So I'm abnormal, is that what you're saying?" 

"I like different, remember?" 

"And I'm supposed to give a damn what you like?" 

He figured any other time she would've gotten mad with him for saying that, but now she just smiled. "Of course," she said. Her smile transformed into a grin. "If I take off your trousers will you forgive me?"

"You become very bold after you nearly die, don't you?"

"You only live once," she replied, shrugging. Then she became serious. "Draco, honestly, what do you think about us?"

  
"Honestly? I think we'll never work," he told her truthfully.

Her eyes darkened with sadness and the corners of her mouth drooped. "I think the opposite," she said quietly. "I think if we try we could make something together."

"We're too different, Ginny," he said. _Just because I feel so totally amazing when you kiss me doesn't mean we're meant for each other_, he added in his head. "We're like water and oil. We wouldn't - we _don't_ - mix." 

"Draco, the thing with you is, you're just afraid to try," she said quietly. 

"I'm not _afraid_," he snapped defensively as she dropped her arms away from his neck. "The reason we're so different, Ginny, is because you love too easily. You'll get too wrapped up in this relationship and when it doesn't work, you will be too busy trying to _make_ it work you won't see that it wasn't meant to be. And then I'll have to be the one to call it off and you'll be heartbroken." 

"That's not true," she said, straightening in his lap. "How do you know I'll be heartbroken? It hasn't even happened yet! You have no idea." 

"Trust me, I do," Draco smirked. "I've dated girls like you before. It happens every time." 

The blood ran from her face and she swallowed. He'd hurt her and she was trying to cover it up. "Well," she said sort of thickly, "this will be different." 

"No it won't," Draco insisted. He felt sick in his stomach for causing the pain in her eyes, but she needed to know the truth. 

Suddenly, the suffering in her expression vanished and was replaced with fire. "Tell me something, Draco," she hissed. Without warning she then grabbed his shoulders and planted her lips firmly on his, kissing him with such force he nearly jerked back from shock. Yet he soon melted into the kiss, loosing himself in the feeling of her lips. He wanted it to go on, but she pulled back and ended it abruptly, meeting his glance with her narrowed eyes. "Tell me," she repeated through clenched teeth, "that you felt what I did. That you felt that explosion, that eruption that happens every time we touch. _Tell me_ you felt it." 

He stared at her. She was still gripping his shoulders hard, her face only inches from his. He could feel her breath on his cheek, could see the anger in her gaze. And for the first time since Ginny had been with him his voice shook slightly as he replied. "Yes," he said quietly. "Yes, I felt it," he said again, this time stronger. 

"So you sit here and try to say that we won't ever work out," she continued fiercely. "Say that we're too different, too opposite to be together. When you know very well that you've never been kissed quite like you are when I kiss you. That you've never felt quite so comfortable in someone else's arms than you do in mine. That you've never felt so carefree in someone else's presence than you do when I'm around. Just say it and see if you believe it any more than I do." 

He couldn't move his head away even if he wanted to. "How do you know?" he demanded quietly. How could she have voiced his exact feelings? And how come he didn't mind that she knew? Why was she having such a damned whirling affect on him? 

Her look softened slightly and she gave him a small smile. "I'm a woman, Draco. I know these things." 

Draco was having trouble keeping his face blank. All his annoying emotions kept wanting to show themselves. It was enough that Ginny _knew_ how he felt, she didn't have to _see_ it as well. 

"Wow, Draco," she said softly, bringing her lips so close to his cheek they brushed his skin when she moved them. "This is the first time you've never come back with some snide remark." 

"I guess you render me speechless," he told her gruffly, turning his head to catch her mouth in his. 

The kiss was more passionate, though it seemed just as fiery as the one before. Ginny shifted, her legs going around his waist, though she was still seated in his lap. Her hands were on the back of his neck, her fingers running through his dripping hair effortlessly. 

She was cold from the water, and her lips were cool. He could feel the water on her cheeks from being pressed against her face. Her clothes were wet and clinging to her body, and he could feel the shape of her, could feel her skin warming under his touch. He couldn't think straight anymore; didn't bother to think at all. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Nothing seemed more important. 

She must've felt the affect she was having on him because she pulled away. Her eyes met his and she whispered, "Are you sure it's safe to be doing this here?" 

"Chances are they think we're dead," Draco replied breezily. 

"Then maybe we should be looking for a way out of here," Ginny suggested, starting to lean back and get off his lap. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back against him. "Or not," she added quickly, smiling as he returned his lips to hers. 

They'd barely gotten started again before there was a loud pop, followed by the same exact sound. If Draco wasn't mistaken, it was the noise of someone Apparating . . . 

Ginny pulled away slightly, turning her head to see what the noise was. Then she gasped and flew backwards off Draco's lap, putting her hands out to keep her from toppling onto her back. 

Draco knew who it was before he'd even looked over. Voldemort and Lucius had Apparated and were standing only a few yards away. Voldemort was sneering contentendly at them, while Lucius was scowling with a frightened look in his eyes. 

"There, you see, Lucius?" the Dark Lord said with fake pleasantness. "I told you we should check and see if they were dead or not. You rely too much on luck. Only fools rely on luck." 

"Yes, My Lord," Draco's father muttered. 

Clearly, Voldemort wasn't happy with his tone. He turned to Lucius while Draco got to his feet, reaching to grip Ginny's arm and help her up. "You have failed me several times tonight, Lucius," the Dark Lord said. "Do you think I like those who fail me?" 

Lucius tore his eyes from Draco and looked up at his master. "No, My Lord -" he blurted. 

"I allow very few mistakes," Voldemort said, keeping his silky calm tone. "You have made quite a bit more than a few." 

"Yes, My Lord," Lucius said again, lowering his gaze. 

"If I wasn't mistaken I'd say you were getting soft," he added dangerously quietly. 

At this Lucius's eyes flew up. "No, no, My Lord!" he insisted. "I will kill them both for you. Just tell me -" 

"That's the problem with you," Voldemort interrupted smoothly. "I need to tell you everything." He reached into his robes and pulled out his wand. "_Crucio_," he said lazily. 

Lucius dropped to the ground instantly, his screams filling the air. It drowned out the waterfull, and was so loud Draco could barely hear himself think. He winced, looking away from his father's writhing body. His eyes fell on Ginny, and saw that she had her eyelids squeezed shut and her hands clapped over her ears. Her face was contorted as though she could barely stand the noise. As though she had sensitive hearing. Draco could only conclude that it was the same yells that had gotten her into the mess her life was now and it must've been some sort of psychological thing. Though he wanted to put an arm around her, he didn't move. 

Emotion was weakness. He couldn't show his weakness to Lord Voldemort. 

The torture went on for a while. Finally, Voldemort removed the curse and Lucius went still, his screams strangling into coughs. 

The Dark Lord turned to Draco. "Would you like to do it?" he asked, baring his teeth. It took Draco a minute to realize he was smiling. And what was he talking about? He must've looked confused, for Voldemort laughed coldly. "All right, I'll do it." And he faced Lucius again, raising his wand once more. 

"No!" Lucius gasped out. "No more, My Lord." 

"Of course not," Voldemort said. "There will be no more anything for you. _Avada Kedrava._" 

There was a flash of green light, and Lucius let out one final scream. Then everything was deadly silent. Even the roar of the waterfall seemed to have dimmed. Draco blinked. His father lay dead on the floor. 

And somehow, even though that was one less person to worry about, Draco didn't feel any more secure about facing Voldemort.

* * *

A/N: Another wonderful cliffie, wouldn't you agree?

Thank yous:

**LilyAyl **(I do believe the book is still in her pocket…), **Athena Lionfire16** (happy holidays!), **audig **(thank you kindly :)), **no angel, Verena Gruen, Amy **(thanks!), **Rocket_Queen_12 **(of course everything will end up all right…I love happy endings), **w&m_law** (I gave snogging just for you!), **Starlight, ~*The Silver Star*~ **(the broomstick, of course, was named after you!) **summer_thyme** (I am anxiously awaiting more of My Own Azkaban), **Brooklyn Majestic**, **Strega Brava **(isn't she, though?), **LoPotter **(wow, thanks!), **Ophelia **(well, I'm honored :D), **sOmEoNeSpEcIaL, The_Lighter_Side_Of_Darkness **(which is amazing, considering I'm very American), **Starlight Nemesis **(thanks!), **JennyT **(thank you too!), **Emiri-Chan, kit-kat, Archer **(any hope of the sequel to Catenatus soon? ::looks hopeful::), **Miz Punk, ~*Amen*~, Luinthoron **(I can't believe you like cliffies! Well, here's another for you!), **Your Worst Nightmare, TheGirlWhoLived **(looking forward to more _long_ emails from you, hee hee), **Cristina, SailorChibi **(yes, Harry is supposed to be a git), **Melissa Belial Riddle** (glad you liked it), **wildmajik, DramaFreak198244, Lucius, Lupin **(sorry, didn't mean to pester you), **Jace **(yeah, I don't think leather Draco would fit in this story, either), **Asanya **(thank you!), **The Jade Princess, ~meg~ **(why thank you), **Gryffingirl **(of course Draco and Ginny are cute together!), **cutiechang **(D/G stories rock!), **Reine Dansante **(glad you enjoyed it), **Lavender James** (thanks, I'm flattered), **Korinna Myorin, Tiny Q, ChildLikeTendencies **(thank you), **~*Crystal Lily*~, leah, mE **(glad you like it!), **witchy_grrl** (glad you like it, too!), **PA Trisha, Firefly **(I love happy endings, of course everything will be all right in the end), and **Peaceful Storm **(wow, thanks!).

Whew, this is what happens when you don't do thank yous for one chapter . . . it takes you forever to do it for two! Thanks to all of you!****


	15. Things Fall Into Place

Disclaimer: JKR gets credit for the characters, of course. 

A/N: Hmm, I'm feeling very evil right now. Why? Oh, just because I've decided this will be my last chapter to this story. I planned on writing _another_ chapter after this, but changed my mind just because I'm evil ^__^ But it's rather long, which is why it took so long to get finished, and if you read the A/N at the end maybe you'll feel a little better. So, here's the final chapter of Wrongfully Accused, I do hope you enjoy.

Chapter Fifteen _Things Fall Into Place_

Ginny had to swallow the lump in her throat as she stared at Lucius, dead and still on the floor. She'd never liked him, and probably never would have, but she hadn't exactly wanted him to die. Watching him rot in Azkaban would've been enough.

_If Voldemort will kill one of his allies_, she thought, _then he'll have no trouble killing me and Draco._

_As if he ever had trouble killing anybody,_ she added almost sarcastically in her mind.

"Don't worry," Voldemort said coolly, causing her to look up sharply at him. He was staring at her, a humorless smile on his horrible face. "You'll be joining him shortly."

"Why?" Draco cut in suddenly. Ginny stared at his profile, trying to read his thoughts. Wasn't he the least bit upset his father was dead? _Of course, this is Draco,_ she realized. _He's probably hiding whatever feelings he has._ "Why kill us?" he continued at Voldemort. "Why not let us go?"

Ginny nudged him, trying to get him to stop talking. Why was he asking such a stupid question? Voldemort killed just because he could. He didn't need a reason. There was no way he'd let them go alive.

Voldemort's cold smile seemed to broaden. "I'm going to kill you," he said quietly, "because it will bring me much pleasure." Then all amusement dropped off his expression. "I know you realize what a failure you were to your father. But did you know that you're an even bigger failure to me?"

Draco sneered. "I'm sorry, you've mistaken me for someone who cares," he retorted.

_Draco, are you _begging_ to be killed?_ Ginny wondered, gaping at him in wonder. How could he look so calm and unaffected? Ginny could feel her own heart pounding wildly in her chest, as if demanding to be free, and could feel beads of sweat, that definitely weren't coming from her wet hair, rolling down her forehead and the sides of her cheeks.

But then something caught Ginny's eye. She glanced down and saw Draco's hand by his side. He was clenching and unclenching his fist, and she could see it visibly shaking. _So he is scared_, Ginny told herself. She wasn't sure if that should've brought her comfort, because it sure didn't.

"I had such high expectations for you, Draco," the Dark Lord said, ignoring Draco's comment.

Then there was a long stretch of silence. Ginny was sure that her thudding heart was echoing off the walls, and plainly heard by Voldemort. For some reason it terrified her even more that he knew she was afraid. Of course, he didn't have to hear anything; just one glance at her trembling form and pale, sweaty face gave away her misery.

"I'm not going to waste anymore time," Voldemort announced suddenly, raising his wand once again. "Since I'm feeling merciful today, I won't bother torturing you. I'll just kill you."

Draco muttered something under his breath that Ginny couldn't understand. But it didn't matter; she was too busy worrying about what was to come. Her heart seemed to skip several beats, and it took all her strength not to dive behind Draco for protection. No matter what, she wasn't going to chicken out or break down crying.

But it was still hard.

Voldemort moved his wand from Draco to Ginny, pointing it straight at her chest. She barely had time to intake a breath before he muttered the words of the Killing Curse.

There was a flash of green, and Ginny couldn't even scream she was so terrified. Everything seemed to happen so quickly. What happened after that passed in a blur as well.

Draco suddenly shouted out, a word that she could scarcely understand. Then she felt rough hands on her upper arm, shoving her violently to the side. She lost her balance and started to topple down.

As she fell, she could feel the curse as it whizzed passed. It was all she could see, actually. It was obviously Draco who had shoved her out of the way. She hadn't been prepared for it, plus he'd used such force that it'd caused her to fall hard onto one hand she shoved out to greet the stone ground. The flash of green light had whooshed nearly directly above her. It continued by and exploded into the wall on the other side of the cavern.

_Draco saved me_, she thought, hardly able to believe she was alive. _He helped me dodge the Killing Curse!_

She looked up sharply, now afraid that Voldemort would be angry and turn and kill Draco. To her relief, and fear, she saw that Draco had his own wand out and was pointing it at the Dark Lord.

_Is he stupid?_ Ginny's mind shrieked. _He's going to get himself killed! He can't duel Voldemort and win!_

"Stupid boy," Voldemort hissed. He opened his mouth to say more when Draco suddenly dropped to the ground on his stomach, holding his wand up at aiming it around Voldemort's knees.

"_Boleriato!_" he whispered.

Ginny watched as an orangey-red light burst from the end of Draco's wand and collided with Voldemort's legs. She was well aware it was Dark magic, and if it had been performed on a normal person they would've been incinerated instantly.

But Voldemort wasn't a normal person. The curse merely knocked his feet out from under him, and his trousers briefly erupted into flames before they were gone, having no affect on him. He had collapsed onto his back heavily, and Ginny hoped the cracking noise she heard was his head hitting the stone.

"Ginny!" Draco snapped at her, causing her to jerk her attention to him. "Get in the water! Now!"

Ginny nodded, happy to obey. She turned and scrambled up, walking on her feet and hands till she reached the water edge. Behind her, she heard Voldemort's voice yell, "_Derola!_"

She paused, half in the water, turning her head back to see what sort of curse it was. She watched as it hit the stone ground just before where Draco's head was. _Yes!_ she thought. _He missed!_

A second later, she recognized that Lord Voldemort hadn't missed – he had meant to hit the stone before Draco. It burst into a shower of pebbles, raining down on Draco's head. She saw him squeeze his eyes shut and look down at the floor, trying to protect his face.

_This is insane_, she thought, retreating back into the water on wobbly legs. _He's trying to fight a battle he's going to lose. He's just going to get himself killed!_

Even so, why was she just sitting there watching? She dropped into the water, her feet resting on the bottom, but floating mostly to keep upright. _Should I help?_ she wondered. Well, of course she should help, two against one were definitely better odds. Still, they were both going to be killed, why fight . . . ?

_Because we've got to try_, she told herself firmly, reaching into her pocket with trembling fingers to get her wand. She pulled it out and pointed it at Voldemort. But she froze, staring with her mouth open, unable to say anything.

The instant after his spell had hit near Draco, Voldemort had gotten back to his feet; barely touched by the curse that had shot at him.  Even from a distance, Ginny could tell that it had only served to make him furious. He strode rapidly to Draco, who was still on his stomach, wand arm pointed out, the last bit of small rocks dropping into his fair hair. And he still had his eyes closed, his face inches from the floor.

Draco suddenly heard Voldemort approaching and froze, looking up when the Dark Lord stopped just before his head. There seemed to be a long stretch where no one made a sound. Ginny watched from the water, too horrified to move, knowing that she should do something before Draco was hurt. But she just couldn't seem to function.

"Do you really think you can win?" sneered Voldemort, bending down and snatching Draco's wand from his hand. "You really are stupid."

Draco quickly sat up, without the usual Malfoy grace, and threw a glance at Ginny. Then he returned his eyes to Voldemort and began hurrying backwards on his hands, trying to get away from the Dark Lord. Voldemort merely stepped after him, an awful smile on his face.  He was clearly enjoying every moment of what was happening. 

"You can't get away from me," he taunted as Draco continued to scuttle backwards. Voldemort followed him until he bumped against a wall, stopping suddenly, realizing he really _couldn't_ get away.

_Okay, Ginny, now would be the time to do something_, she told herself, and raised her wand. Then she shouted the first spell that came to her mind. "_Neramio!_" 

It was as if Voldemort saw it coming. As the jet of white light shot towards him, he turned his head almost lazily and stepped backwards out of the way. He barely even flinched when it hit the wall beside him and caused several pieces of stone to burst into the air, though on the ground Draco covered his head with his arms.

"_Expelliarmus_," Voldemort said quickly. 

Ginny should've known he would do that. She desperately tried to cling onto her wand, but couldn't hold it tight enough. It slipped through her fingers. She jumped forward, flopping stomach-first into the water to try and grab it, but it was no use. By the time she managed to get erect again, her wand was firmly in Voldemort's left hand. He smirked at her and threw it across the room, and she watched, feeling dread soak through her, as it bounced off the wall and clattered to the floor. There was no way she could get it. Voldemort would be able to stop her before she even made it out of the water. 

"You both are really beginning to annoy me," he drawled. "You keep fighting even though you cannot win." He paused, as if thinking, before going on. With a flick of his wand, he said loudly, "_Lerashioma._"

Ginny winced, bracing herself for a curse to come flying at her. But nothing erupted from the end of Voldemort's wand. For a long moment there was nothing but silence.

_What did he do?_ she wondered frantically, beginning to shiver from what she hoped was the cold water and not fear. _He must've done something! Why isn't anything happening?_

A moment later, something did happen. Movement caught her eye and she snapped her head around. She saw something thin, a dark green color, spreading along the huge cavern walls from an invisible source. It moved swiftly, like snakes, slithering over the stone and covering it in moments. The noise it made greatly resembled the rustling of leaves. 

Ginny squinted as she whipped her head around, watching as it turned the once brown stone into a thick wall of green. At first she'd thought they were snakes, but her theory was quickly smothered when she noticed they had _leaves_. They were some sort of vines, growing along the stone, enveloping it. 

_It's going to do something_, she realized, fear sticking her in place. _It's going to become vicious somehow and grab at me._

Her eyes followed the vines as they glided down the wall smoothly, disappearing down into the water. By now the room had become much darker, being that the walls were a shade of dark emeralds, and even the waterfall seemed to have quieted, as if holding its breath in suspense. Ginny's breathing became louder and shallower as she looked down into the water, waiting for the leaves to spread along the floor and grab her ankles, pulling her under.

But that never happened.

Instead, a loud noise came from behind her; the noise of something large bursting from underneath the surface. She could feel the ripple of the water behind her, lapping at her back, and somehow managed to turn her body to see what was going on. 

The vines had converged underwater to make one huge plant. It looked almost like a gigantic fern, except with darker and different shaped leaves. It rose from the water, towering above Ginny, so high she had to tilt her face up to see the top of it. 

_Oh . . ._ she thought, suddenly feeling nauseous with fright. _Oh . . . this is not good . . ._

Her eyes skimmed down towards the middle of the huge fern, and saw something that no longer classified it as a plant, but rather, an animal. There was a hole, a mouth really, only black and seemingly endless, with many rows of sharp, surprisingly white teeth. It seemed to bear them at her, threatening her, snapping its vines that resembled arms; snapping them almost like whips. 

_Run!_ she thought automatically. _Get out of the water! Get away from this thing!_

She spun in the water as quickly as possible and started using her legs to run towards where Draco and Voldemort were. In the back of her mind, she realized that even _out_ of the water the Thing could reach out one of its arm vines and grab her, dragging her back in. She tried not to dwell on it and kept pushing her way, difficulty in the water, towards the "shore".

Of course, she never got there.

Up to her thighs in water, she suddenly felt something slide around her waist. Stopping with a gasp, and looking down, she saw that, as she had feared would happen, one of the leafy branches had wrapped itself firmly around her middle. 

For the first time she didn't contemplate, or freeze in terror; she reacted instantly. She latched her hands onto the vine, which had wound itself around about three times. It was now starting to squeeze. With as much force as she could muster, she dug her fingernails and tips into the leaves. Unfortunately, the branch was about as thin as ivy, and she ended up scratching it at, only tearing a few leaves off in the process. She was probably doing no damage except angering the Thing.

It suddenly jerked on the vine, so suddenly and brutally that it yanked her down into the water and onto her back. She kicked her arms and legs wildly, letting out a short shriek. When she went to inhale, she accidentally did so when she'd sunk a little down under the surface, and ended up sucking in water. Lifting her head, she coughed violently, trying to clear her throat again. Her hair, wet and dripping, clung to her face. Fortunately, at this moment, the Thing must've been letting her catch her breath and it didn't tug anymore on its branch. She managed to get her knees firmly on the stone beneath the water.  The surface of the water was at her chest, and she continued coughing. Every time she tired to breath in, her hair was vacuumed into her mouth, once again choking her.  Annoyed, she wiped it out of her face and tried to shakily get to her feet.  

Yet the Thing gave another almighty tug, and she was abruptly pulled back towards it, once again falling under the water. Underneath the surface she could hear the roaring of the waterfall, and though she'd been pulled so far under that her fingertips barely reached up, she could hear her feet lashing out and kicking madly. She struggled, water filling her nose, flooding her ears, blurring her vision . . . bubbles floating all around her, bursting at the surface that seemed so far away and unreachable . . . 

Her eyesight was misty and her hair was hovering around her face and tickling her cheeks.  Despite this, she could see that the other vines were continually slapping at the top of the surface and sinking down a bit, only to be lifted once again.  The branch around her waist still held on firmly, and somehow it kept her exactly in place. No matter how much she struggled, no matter how much she fought, she couldn't get free.

She panicked. It was like being in the sinking Cell Bus all over again. Already her body was begging for air. She went from pulling on the vine around her middle to attempting to break herself free by squirming and then, once she was free, try and swim to the top. Neither tactic worked. If anything, the vine was only getting tighter, as if trying to wring the already limited air in her lungs. 

_I'm going to die!_ she thought. _If I don't get loose I'm really going to die!_

And still, she tried. Nothing worked. It seemed as if this Thing was going to drown her and _then_ eat her. She, vaguely, thought that maybe she should be thankful for not being eaten to death, but as her lungs began to burn, reaching the point of pain, it made her think differently. 

Drowning was _not_ going to be a fun way to die.

* * *

Draco was watching, and yet he wasn't doing anything.

His back was firmly against the wall, his knees were pulled up, and Voldemort was standing a few yards away, near the water's edge, watching as the mutant plant dragged Ginny under and kept her there. He knew that he could easily jump up and tackle Voldemort from behind, and maybe grab his wand back. Or  he could shove him into the water, thus keeping him busy for the few moments Draco would need to run and grab Ginny's wand across the room.

But he did nothing.

Looking back, he never really understood why he just sat there, feeling his insides trembling like a frightened child. Maybe it was because he'd never been so absolutely terrified in his life. He just couldn't make his body function. _Why should I risk my life for Ginny's?_ he wondered, trying to reassure himself that if Ginny died it absolutely would not be his fault. _Even if I do save her from that plant Voldemort'll kill us both. Why save her from one death and bring her to another?_

After a moment, Voldemort spun sharply and walked back, standing before Draco once more. He had a pleased smile on his face. "Lictus plant," he announced. "It lives in every body of water there is and feeds on human flesh – _after_ it's drowned its victim."

Draco glanced quickly back at the water. There was a tremendous amount of splashing, but he didn't know if it was from the plant or Ginny. He swallowed as subtly as he could and flicked his eyes back up to Voldemort.

The Dark Lord's smile disappeared and he looked serious. "Do you know why I killed your father, Draco?"

Draco managed to narrow his eyes an instant before looking down. He spat out with as much venom as he could possess, "Because you could."

Voldemort's cold laugh seemed to bounce off the walls, echoing throughout the cavern. "Of course I _could_," he said. "But there is something you must understand, Draco. I don't kill without a _reason_."

"I find that hard to believe," he scoffed, raising his eyes to Voldemort without moving his head. 

His expression sobered. "Believe it," he snapped shortly.

"Why did you try to kill Potter?" Draco demanded. "He wasn't a threat to you. He was just an infant, wasn't he?"

"Don't talk about things," he hissed viciously, "that you don't understand. I have my reasons for trying to kill Potter. It was unfortunate for the woman that she got in the way."

Draco tried another tactic. "Then why kill us? Why kill Ginny?" His throat tightened suddenly at the mention of her name, and he had to swallow once again before continuing. "What the hell did we do to you?"

"I had never intended on killing you," he replied, his red eyes slits. "You were to take Lucius's place. But somehow you must've been raised incorrectly, and you ended up helping the Weasley girl."

"Why is she so important to you?" Draco pressed through gritted teeth. "_That's_ what I don't understand." By now he was feeling slightly stupid and inferior.  He was sitting the on the ground, only able to have a full view of The Dark Lord's face by craning his neck. He settled on just staring at the ground, even though it made him look like a coward.

Who knew? He probably _was_ a coward. After all, he hadn't tried to save Ginny from that plant monster. _It's not my fault anyway_, he thought fiercely. _I'm not her brother or anything. I don't have to save her every single time she's in danger._

"Ah," Voldemort said, an icy smile curling his thin lips, cutting Draco's thoughts short. "I shall tell you that. I can see that you have developed a fondness for her," he added, sounding disgusted. Pausing, he looked back over his shoulder at the water. The plant was still moving violently, as though there were still a struggle going on.

_She's bound to be unconscious by now_, Draco realized. _She's been under there for nearly three minutes, at least. Any second now the plant will eat her corpse . . ._

"Did the girl ever tell you about what happened during her first year at Hogwarts?" Voldemort demanded sharply. 

Slightly distracted, Draco said vaguely, "No."

"Your father gave her a diary," said Voldemort. 

Draco suddenly knew what he was talking about and interrupted quietly. "Father told me already. He slipped your old diary into one of Ginny's schoolbooks. And then your . . . memory took her over and forced her to open the Chamber of Secrets."

"Do you know what the Chamber of Secrets _is_, Draco?" Voldemort's voice was now a whisper, and it contained excitement.

Draco honestly didn't give a rat's arse what the Chamber of Secrets was, but he knew that Voldemort was being more than generous in sparing his life for another few moments to tell him, at least, the reason Ginny was dying. Maybe she was already dead. So he thought back to the time when he'd demanded his father tell him exactly what the Chamber of Secrets held. "It was supposed to contain some sort of horror," Draco began, proud of himself for sounding a tad bit bored, "that would kill every unworthy student at Hogwarts when released."

"Yes," Voldemort confirmed. "What sort of horror?"

"How the hell should I know?" Draco snapped, feeling annoyance. _What is this, a lesson?_ he wondered, frowning.

The Dark Lord ignored his tone and attitude. "Potter thought he'd discovered the horror," he continued explaining. "He thought he'd destroyed it when he killed the serpent during his second year."

"What does this have anything to do with Ginny?" Draco cried.

"Everything. Ginny opened the Chamber of Secrets with _my_ help. My memory's help. Only direct descendents of Salazar Slytherin can open the chamber." He did not go on, and Draco thought for a second that maybe he was supposed to figure out what he meant. He had no clue whatsoever.

"And?" he asked, waiting.

"That horror is still within the chamber," Voldemort said, his eyes dancing oddly. 

"Isn't the chamber still open?" Draco interrupted. _Wouldn't it, whatever it is, have gotten out by now?_

"No. That fool Dumbledore managed to close it sometime after it had been opened," Voldemort snapped bitterly. 

"So," Draco started slowly, starting to understand slightly, "you want to open the Chamber of Secrets again and release that horror."

"Precisely."

"And I still don't know what that has to do with Ginny."

"She's the only one who can open it," said Lord Voldemort simply.

Draco actually forgot all about the plant and Ginny's demise and puzzled for a moment. That statement had made absolutely _no_ sense. "Ginny's a descendent of Slytherin?" he asked rather stupidly.

Voldemort gave him a look of complete irritation. "You idiot," he shouted. Whenever he became angry, Draco noticed, he still managed to look lazy about it. "If she was, then she wouldn't have been placed in Gryffindor."

"Well, I don't understand!" Draco shot back. "How can she be the only one to open it if she isn't a descendent? You said that only ancestors of Slytherin –"

"I am _aware_ of what I said. But something went wrong. Something happened when my memory managed to open the chamber through Ginny's body."

There was a long pause. Draco found himself anticipating impatiently what exactly had happened. "What?" he demanded harshly, hardly able to wait.

"The spell that Salazar placed on the chamber, the spell that only allowed his descendents to open it, must've vanished when Ginny opened it," he explained, sounding far off. "I've attempted to open it several times by now, and I can't."

Draco realized his mouth was hanging open slightly, and he clamped it shut. "Ginny's the only one who can open the Chamber of Secrets? _You_ can't?"

"I did not think that this would happen," Voldemort snapped almost calmly. "If I had then I would've sucked the life from her and opened the chamber as my old self. I assumed it would be easier inside the chamber, surrounded by Dark Magic . . ."

"If you want Ginny so you can open the Chamber of Secrets, then why did my father have her framed and sent to Azkaban?" Draco insisted. "There's no connection."

"Of course there is," Voldemort said with forced patience. "In Azkaban, we can easily get her. But if she's at home, surrounded by her family, it's nearly impossible. Dumbledore has been sure to put protective charms not only around Potter, but also around the Weasleys and that Muggle family and their Mudblood daughter: the Grangers . . . the stupid fool has thought of nearly everything." 

"By getting her convicted and sent to Azkaban, I took her out of Dumbledore's protection." He flashed a humorless smile. "Everything that she witnessed was planned. I was torturing Lucius, oh yes, but he _knew_ to say that Ginny did it. I helped him make the Veritaserum that was used on her, and everything went smoothly. Until, of course, the bus crashed and she somehow lived. Because _you_ helped her."

Draco had to bite his tongue from retorting. He'd already lived longer than he expected – behind Voldemort, the plant was still thrashing about, though Ginny had surely gone unconscious by now. And he knew the reason all this had happened to them; the reason all this had happened to _her._ Just because she was needed to open the Chamber of –

"Wait," Draco said suddenly, frowning as he thought of something. "If you _need_ her, then why are you _killing_ her?"

Voldemort stared at him for the longest time without expression, and for an instant Draco actually figured that maybe he'd suddenly realized made a mistake. But then his face contorted into a look of impatience, and he snarled, "Have you not been listening to a word I said? I only need her _body_. Since I opened the chamber once _through_ her, and without me she would've never been able to do it, then I only need her body, dead or alive. And dead is much easier, for she won't be able to fight at all."

"You can possess a dead body?" Now Draco was just buying time. Though, he wondered, buying time for what?

"Yes," Voldemort angrily replied. "It's much simpler than a live one."

"I think you've just confused me more," Draco said, squirming. _What am I _doing?he thought, then answered his own question. _I'm prolonging the inevitable, that's what I'm doing. And it won't last for long. Voldemort won't want to sit here and answer my questions for much longer._

Yet Voldemort answered, even if it was exasperatedly. "Ginny's body is the key to opening the chamber. But my spirit is also what is needed. I can't do it by myself, and she couldn't do it by herself. We're _both_ needed."

"But –" he started.

"Enough!" the Dark Lord barked, raising a hand. "I've explained to you as much as you need to know." He lifted his wand hand and pointed the tip down at Draco's chest. He gave a horrible smile. "Pity . . ." he murmured. "You could've been so much more, Draco."

Draco was horrified to find himself squeezing his eyes shut, but it was more like a reflex that he couldn't stop. He waited, and waited, for the words _Avada Kedrava_ to hit his ears. But the words never came.

Instead, a loud, booming voice that seemed ten times larger than Voldemort's ever had, echoed throughout the chamber. "VOLDEMORT!"

Draco's eyes flew open in surprise, just in time to see Voldemort slowly turn around. For one wild instance Draco thought that Ginny had somehow gotten out of the water and managed to get her wand.

But that's not who he saw. Standing a few yards away, wand pointed directly at the Dark Lord, was Albus Dumbledore.

Draco was gaping and he knew it. Thousands of thoughts ran through his mind at that point, none of them rational. His heart seemed to leap in his throat in shock as he stared, slightly leaning to the side to see around Voldemort's legs. 

Dumbledore looked absolutely terrifying. Draco could see it even from the distance he was at. He could almost hear his old Headmaster fuming in anger, his face flushed, blue eyes turned to hard, icy stone. And at that all Draco could think was, _I'm glad he's on our side._

Draco had heard somewhere that the only man that Voldemort feared was Dumbledore. Leaning forward a bit more and tilting his head up, Draco could see the Dark Lord's face, and it was far from frightened. In fact, he looked a cross between amused and . . . well, happy.

"Dumbledore," he said silkily, slowly. "You old fool. Come to duel me, have you?"

"If that is what it comes to," Dumbledore replied coldly. He flicked his gaze down at Draco, as if signaling something to him. Miraculously, Draco knew what he meant. He was telling him to move.

Well, he'd do that gladly. But he'd also free Ginny in the process. _If_, he added somewhat reluctantly, _there's still life in Ginny to be saved._

Voldemort still had his wand, and Ginny's was all the way on the other side of the cavern, somewhere behind Dumbledore. Though that was where he needed to go, for it was the only wand available at the moment. He was going to get it – he'd just have to trust that Dumbledore would know how to block any curses that Voldemort hurled at him to try and stop him.

Draco didn't waste much time. While Dumbledore glared at Voldemort, who smiled lazily back, Draco crawled to his feet quickly. He put a spurt of speed into his legs and sprinted as fast as he could across the cavern; he'd probably never run faster in his life. He was halfway to Dumbledore before Voldemort started to shout a curse to prevent him from going any further.

"_Inerado!"_ Voldemort shouted.

"_Oerana!_" Dumbledore yelled immediately after, jumping forward slightly. Draco could see what happened out of the corner of his eye; the orange light that came from the tip of Voldemort's wand was hurtling after him, but the white light from Dumbledore's wand intercepted it. The two lights emerged, and in an instant, sizzled and went out.

Draco was now safely behind Dumbledore; any more curses the Headmaster would surely be able to stop without a doubt. And he could see Ginny's wand, near the far wall. He continued to sprint towards it.

Behind him, Voldemort, who's voice had taken a furious edge to it, said roughly, "Trying to protect the son of one of my most loyal followers?"

"Lucius is no longer your follower, for I believe I see him dead on the floor just over there," Dumbledore answered smoothly. "And even if he were alive, I would protect him if he ever needed it."

Voldemort laughed hollowly. "You never cease to amuse me, Dumbledore. I'm sure you would even protect me if I asked you to."

"No, Voldemort, only you can protect yourself," he said. 

"Typical," Voldemort scoffed. "You Muggle-loving fool . . ."

"It does begin to get boring being called the same thing repeatedly, Voldemort," Dumbledore interrupted. "I would guess you get tired of being called 'that bastard' don't you?"

Draco had to let a small smile creep over his face. _Score one for Dumbledore_, he thought, almost wishing he were still near Voldemort to see the look on his face. But now he was right above Ginny's wand, and he reached down and snatched it up. 

_Keep him busy, Headmaster_, Draco said, more to himself, silently, and turned to water. He dared not venture too close to the edge, for then Dumbledore might not be able to protect him in time.

The plant had calmed somewhat, though it was still making a lot of noise, snapping its vines everywhere, almost like it was having a tantrum. Draco began to wonder maybe if it'd eaten Ginny already, for he was so busy with Voldemort he might've missed it.

But then a flash of red underneath the bubbled water caught his eye, and he saw that she was still there. Underneath the water, most likely near death, if not already dead, but at least not _inside_ the plant.

Draco quickly thought of the Stunning spell he'd learned in Herbology that would stun a plant. He was not used to Ginny's wand, but it was still a wand, and it would have to work. "_Eralinium!_" he hissed. A moment later the huge plant froze, half its vines still in midair. The water it sat in continued to bubble, like boiling water, and would do so before it eventually calmed.

He had to wait a moment for it to clear so he could see exactly where Ginny was. He desperately wanted to run in, but Voldemort would surely kill him.

Suddenly, the sound of Voldemort shouting a curse filled Draco's mind, and he turned his head to see that Dumbledore was already hurling a counter-curse back at him. _They're going to be dueling_, he realized. _Maybe it'll distract the Dark Lord long enough for me to get Ginny._

He was willing to take the chance. Ginny's wand in hand, he ran into the water, then began wading when it got too deep to really move his legs. Fortunately, his feet still touched the bottom when he reached where Ginny was, still held underwater by a vine wrapped around her waist.

Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. Her hair was floating eerily up to the surface, the only thing on her that was waving in the slight current.

_She's dead_, he thought, feeling numb. _She's got to be. There's no way she could be underwater so long and live . . ._

Nonetheless, he still used magic to unwrap the vine. He lifted her out of the water and began to pull her along back towards shore, certain to keep her face in the air, until it was shallow enough to hoist her onto his shoulder. She lay there limply, water dripping off her, giving Draco a very bad feeling that she might never move again.

Voldemort and Dumbledore were constantly shouting curses back and forth. Draco glanced at them and saw Dumbledore, surprisingly quick and fast for someone his age, dodging many of the curses while Voldemort merely blocked them with magic. 

Yet he couldn't stand there and watch. He had to tend to Ginny.

A little ways behind Dumbledore, Draco gently lowered her to the ground onto her back. Wiping her wet hair off her bluish face, he stared down at her. Her chest was not moving, and she didn't bat an eyelash. He pressed two fingers to her neck, and sagged when he couldn't feel any pulse.

_But can't victims of drowning be brought back to life?_ he wondered. _Within the first five minutes or . . . something._

He wasn't sure what exactly he should do. He didn't know how to do Muggle CPR. And he wasn't sure if he should attempt mouth-to-mouth because wouldn't that just be blowing the water back _into_ her lungs? He wanted the opposite effect of that. 

Now he was beginning to wish he'd paid attention in those few classes they'd been required to take on medical care. 

_Well, all I need to do is get the water out of her lungs_, he thought, feeling shaky. So all he'd need to do was a Salvage Spell, wouldn't he? _Salvage Spells get things out of narrow places – like things wedged into tight places. Maybe that'll bring the water back out._

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he used his free hand to pry her mouth open and stuck the tip of the wand against her tongue. "_Relavio_," he murmured in an uncertain voice.

It took a moment, but it worked. One instant nothing was happening, and the next, water gushed out of Ginny's throat, almost as fast as a water fountain. Draco leaned back, slightly surprised, as the now-warm water ran down Ginny's cheeks and over his hand that was keeping her mouth open. It went on for only a few seconds, yet it seemed like a long time. _She must've swallowed a hell of a lot of water_, he thought. But deep down he was feeling relieved – getting her lungs water-free was the first step to reviving her.

She did not start breathing, nor did her pulse start back up.

_Now_ he could do mouth-to-mouth.

He'd never done it before, but it had to be fairly simple. He'd seen it done one day when he was in Muggle London with his mother, when an old man had suddenly keeled over in the street and a passerby had dropped down and started giving him mouth-to-mouth and CPR. Unlike CPR, which required knowledge or else the victim might be hurt, mouth-to-mouth had to be relatively harmless when performed by someone who had no idea what they were doing. At least that's what Draco hoped.

He set her wand down and pinched her nostrils shut. Then, after taking another deep breath, he covered her mouth with his. He exhaled somewhat slowly before pulling back, inhaling again, and repeating the procedure.

Draco wasn't sure how many times he did it. Once, out of the corner of his eye, he'd seen her chest rise, and he'd gotten a bit excited. Though when he'd pulled back, and she hadn't continued breathing on her own, he figured it must've been just his air going into her lungs.

"Oh, come on, Ginny," he muttered, and leaned back down.

Maybe the tenth or eleventh time he breathed into her mouth, and just when he was about ready to give up, she twitched under him. It was like she'd gotten shocked. Draco lifted his head and released her nose. Her eyes were still closed, but she abruptly started coughing violently, the bluish tinge leaving her face. 

She was alive.

Draco smiled brightly and, for the first time in a while, genuinely. He gently slid his hand under her head to lift it off the stone while she continued to cough, trying to catch her breath.

After she gasped in a few breaths without coughing, her eyes fluttered open. She looked up and saw him. "Draco?" she croaked. "Oh, God, am I alive?"

He nodded. "Yes, you're alive. Unfortunately for me."

She made an odd noise, and Draco noticed she was trying to laugh. She cut it off, though, and winced. "Ow, don't make me laugh. It hurts." Then she sat up, with Draco's help, and saw Dumbledore and Voldemort, still dueling, on the other end of the cavern. "Is that _Dumbledore?_" she whispered.

"The one and only," Draco replied back in an equally hushed tone. "Come on, can you stand?"

He put his arm around her back, hooking it under far arm, while his other hand gripped the nearest arm and began to raise her into a sitting position. Slowly and carefully, he helped her rise. She was a bit wobbly on her feet at first, and she clutched the front of his wet shirt to keep her balance. 

Draco had been so intent on keeping her up without letting her drop, it took him a moment to notice that the chamber had become quiet – empty of any sound except the waterfall. He tossed his hair out of his eyes, and glanced back over at Voldemort and Dumbledore, thinking for a moment that maybe one of them had won. 

But they were both still standing, wands still pointed at each other warily. Neither of them made a move to try and curse the other. Voldemort, whose face was the only Draco could see, was glaring at Dumbledore so maliciously that for a moment Draco thought he would lose all calmness and just snap. Instead, he glanced over Dumbledore's shoulder, at Draco and Ginny, then back to the Headmaster.

A leisurely smile spread across his face, even though his red eyes were still flaming. "She lives," he muttered, as if almost to himself. Draco had to strain to hear. "And so I shall return."

Dumbledore seemed to realize exactly what Voldemort was going to do, but he reacted too late. He yelled out, "_Avada Kedrava_!" and waved his wand, flinging the curse at the Dark Lord. For a moment, Draco tensed, feeling Ginny lean harder against him for support, thinking that maybe Dumbledore had gotten him this time; he would not be able to dodge this one.

As the Killing Curse raced towards him, there was a loud _Pop!_ The green light burst into the wall behind where Voldemort had been standing, just a moment ago. Draco seemed to blink, and it was all over.

He, Dumbledore, and Ginny were the only ones left in the chamber. Nearby, where Voldemort had been standing, was Draco's wand.

"Where'd he go?" Draco asked.

Dumbledore's shoulders seemed to sag, and he turned around to face them. He gave them a very faint smile and said, "Apparated. He has fled."

"Well, where is he now?" Draco said. "Will he come back?"

"Eventually," Dumbledore answered. 

"Eventually as in . . . not anytime in the next hour, right?" 

"No," sighed Dumbledore. "But we must leave here. Come, there is a way out." He raised his wand arm straight up, pointing the wand at the ceiling that seemed ages away. "_Elarion_," he murmured, and a moment later, there was a square opening in the ceiling, which cast light down onto the stone floor. 

"Is that . . . is that the surface?" Ginny croaked.

Dumbledore smiled weakly again, and nodded. "It leads to the Malfoy's front yard. There are some Aurors with broomsticks up there – I'll Apparate and send them down."

"Wait," Draco insisted. His arm was still wrapped firmly around Ginny's shoulders. "How'd you know to come find us?"

"The Weasleys, of course." Dumbledore's smile broadened. "When they read Ginny's note they contacted me immediately."

Draco glanced at Ginny, who was also smiling, but it was more with relief and gratitude. "What note?" he asked her.

She looked at him. "I left a note, telling Mum and Dad where I was going. I just didn't want them to worry about me, though I was expecting to be home before they woke up in the morning." Then she turned her face to Dumbledore. "But of all places, how'd you know we were down _here_?"

"The Tracking Spell helped," he answered. Now his expression was more like the Dumbledore Draco knew – slightly wrinkled, happy, and with twinkling blue eyes. "Voldemort had placed a rather powerful one on you, Draco. I could feel it the minute we arrived."

"So you followed us down here from the Tracking Spell," Ginny figured.

"But we were in the water," Draco said. "Didn't that throw you off?"

"Yes, it did," Dumbledore admitted. "Yet I, with a handful of Aurors, followed the spell until the place where it suddenly stopped. I happened to remember that there was a large underground chamber with a spring quite a distance beneath Malfoy Manor, for it, back when there was no running water, used to be the source of water to the manor and the nearby village. I Apparated ahead, figuring that perhaps it was where you were. 

"Most of it was just sheer good luck, actually," Dumbledore mused. "I managed to Apparate to the exact place where you were."

"And you saved us," Draco finished. 

"For the time being, yes," Dumbledore allowed. "But Voldemort won't give up just because he couldn't get you once. He'll try again."

Ginny shivered, pressing her body closer to Draco's. 

"I'll be sure to protect you in any way I can," Dumbledore continued gently, trying to reassure her. "With charms and such. But until Voldemort is defeated, I'm afraid you can never be too safe."

* * *

Back up in fresh air again, wrapped in drying blankets provided by the Ministry, Draco and Ginny sat on the grass in the Malfoy's front lawn. The yard was teeming with Auror's, all bustling and moving about, going in and out of the house, occasionally shouting to one another.

The Weasleys were on their way at that very moment, and somehow, Ginny found herself enjoying just sitting just with Draco without saying a word much more than being with her family at that moment. 

A medi-wizard had come already and checked them, fixing Draco's nose and the cuts in his wrists from the rope cords. After he pronounced them in good health, and after they told the story repeatedly of how Lucius died to the Aurors, they were both allowed to sit alone, ordered not be bothered.

It was nearing afternoon. _We were down there all night and morning_, Ginny thought, wrapping the blanket closer around her shoulders. _And we're still alive._

Dumbledore walked up to them then, a somber look on his face. "Ginny," he said, "there is no Minister for the time being. They have temporarily made me Minister until the end of the summer and until the new school year starts again, I'll be in charge of the Ministry. Then they will find someone else."

Ginny stared at him, wondering why he was telling her this. "And?" she blurted before she could stop herself.

"And . . . I'm allowing you to be re-tried for the use of an Unforgivable Curse," he told her, and grinned. "You will be given the Veritaserum once more, a Veritaserum that I will make."

Ginny found herself grinning back. Finding energy still left in her, she shrugged the blanket off her, jumped to her feet, and threw her arms around Dumbledore's neck, giving him a hug. He chuckled and patted her head.

Then, she suddenly remembered something. Dropping her arms to her sides, she took a slight step back and exclaimed, "Oh! I have this . . ." She started to dig into her pocket. _Is it still there?_ she wondered. And to her surprise and happiness, her fingers curled around the small book. Pulling it out, she reached for her wand and returned it to its original size. "_Various Veritaserums_," she read proudly, handing it to him. "This is the book Lucius most likely used to make that false Veritaserum he gave to me."

Dumbledore's eyes brightened as they ran over the cover. "Wonderful. This will help to prove your innocence."

"Thank you, sir, for everything," Ginny told him, unable to stop smiling. Dumbledore winked faintly at her before he turned and left them. Ginny, still looking after him, slowly lowered herself back to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Draco was staring at her, and she turned her head sharply to him. "What?" she inquired, noticing that he had his lips curled upwards into what resembled a grin.

"Nothing," he replied lazily, leaning back on his hands and looking away. The breeze lifted the fair hair on his forehead, making it dance, and Ginny felt that familiar tingle in her stomach. 

"Draco," she said seriously, scooting closer and turning her body towards him, "we've been through a lot, haven't we?"

She watched the corners of his mouth slowly drop, but when he turned his eyes on hers she could see the amusement in them. "You know the answer to that one, Ginny," he told her.

She took a deep breath, and without even giving a thought to her dignity, jumped right to the point. "After all that, after how many times we've come so close to death, don't you think we should be together? Or, at the very least, give it a try?"

He stared at her for the longest time, his eyes somber now, his face without expression, before answering. At last, he reached up to brush a strand of hair off his forehead and finally answered, "What do you think, Ginny?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but then realized she wasn't sure what he was asking her. What did she think his answer was going to be? Or what did she think about how their relationship would be like? "I've already told you what I think," she whispered after a moment.

Draco looked at her intently, as though studying her. Then he lifted a hand and placed it on her hair, smoothing it down. It was a very un-Draco thing to do, and Ginny tried to read his expression. But he would not meet her eyes – with a blank face, he appeared to be interested in her hair, even though he stopped stroking it after a second, and without meaning to she leaned her head into his palm. 

Minutes passed, or, to Ginny, that's what it seemed like. Draco finally gave a deep sigh, and locked his eyes on hers. Gradually he brought his mouth to hers, and gave her a very gentle, soft kiss. It was over before she had time to acknowledge it had begun, though, when he pulled away, her lips were still tingling with his warmth.

He then smirked, amused once again, and said quietly, "I leave it to you to protect me from your brothers."

Ginny blinked, and Draco began to laugh. It was a real laugh, with humor and merriment, and in a second she'd joined in with him. _He's going to try_, she thought, moving even closer to him. _He's going to give us a try._

They might've laughed for a very long time, unable to stop, but they soon were in another kiss, and suddenly, Ginny forgot all about laughing.

Everything was suddenly different. In only a few days she'd gone from running from the Ministry, trying to keep her freedom for just a bit longer, to running from Voldemort, trying to keep her life. But it had changed.

She was now completely and totally free.

THE END

* * *

Well, that's all, folks!

Here are the last thank yous. I've said something to everybody, for once ::laughs nervously:: Anyway, thank you to everyone who's reviewed, and especially to everyone who's followed the story from the beginning. I really appreciate it, and it was because of you that I kept going. 

Thank you,

**Jace** (Lucius was actually beginning to grow on me, too, but I needed to kill him ::laughs evilly::), **Mionee** (update for AYNiL should come soon!), **LoPotter** (LOL, thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Sorry I didn't update so soon!), **Verena Gruen** (Of course they came out okay! And, wow, Germany, cool! Okay, do I sound like a dork? ::snickers::) **wmlaw** (Queen of the Cliffhangers? Now there's a title . . .) **Tigre** (I've continued, but now it is over :^( ) **Starlight Nemesis **(thank you ::blushes::), **audig** (glad you liked it :^D) **Aimee** (thanks for the encouragement), **witchy_grrl** (I'm happy you enjoyed it so much), **FrEd 'N' GeoRgE – OriGinaL PranKstErs ForEveR** (of course they're together!), **MrsGeorgeWeasley** (does it really? Glad you liked it!), **JennyT** (::laughs:: Was this a good happy ending?), **Bunny** (thank you very much), **Soo Mee **(oooh, do read more D/G!), **~meg~** (ahhh, now they're out of trouble . . . or are they?) **wildmajik** (of course they escaped! LOL), **Slytherins R Sexy **(Sorry to make you cry), ***kittykat*** (the chapter ends when things get interesting just so I can torture you! Bwa ha ha ha . . . no), **sailor hope** (hope that was soon enough for you), **Loriko Neko** (he is a git, isn't he? And thanks!), **Amanda Mancini** (thanks, argh, I'm finally finishing some of the million fics I have going), **Tangerine Caprigrrl** (thank you for all the reviews you've given me!), **Manda Black **(of course a happy ending!), **Ann H Lin** (thanks, I'm sure you'll find yours soon ^__^), **Fernanda **(but of course they are! :^D) **ev** (thank you for the wonderfully long review. I have read Cassie's stories before, and I do think they are _really_ good, but I've never heard of the movie _It Happened One Night_. That is amazing, considering I'm a humungo movie buff, but I'll hafta check it out ^__~) **ginny5** (why thank you), **Jewel Giovanni** (But of course D/G theme is fantastic . . . thank you!), **TheGirlWhoLived** (terribly sorry to leave you hanging . . . ::grins evilly::), **Lucia **(Don't worry, I'm a hopeless romantic as well :^D),** NightangelTS **(thank ya much!), **Nice** (glad to hear from you again, and glad you liked it), **BlackBandit **(yes, I agree with you, which is why I ended it. Happy you liked my!Draco), **summer_thyme** (LOL ". . . wild hot sex in the Malfoy Manor dungeon." ::shakes head and laughs:: Anyway, thank you for being one of my faithful reviewers from the beginning!), **TohmaDanzig** (yes, I have been called evil before =D), **Caroline** (terribly sorry I did not meet you're deadline . . . but, ah, do you think you could spare me the wet noodle? ::looks around cautiously::), **DarkIllusion **(Dying? Oh my . . . ::calls 911::), **~*Crystal Lily*~** (happy you liked it!), **Kacella** (::blushes:: thanks . . .), **rocket_queen_12 **(LOL, that's pretty funny), **Lulu** (is it? Thanks!), **Silverarrows*** **(thanks a bundle! Happy new year to you, too), **ChildLikeTendencies **(LOL, I almost had to . . .), **Reine Dansante** (Ha! Thanks for the long review. It was very amusing! I'm sorry that I turn your brain to mush, and you're right, we all get together just to torture you! ::cackles::), **vicsamky** (yes, I'm pumping, I'm pumping . . . :^D), **Melissa Belial Riddle** (I tried, honestly I tried, but this fic just _had_ to end), **Annabelle Peach** (anything for you!), **Nerul** (there will be more as soon as I can start typing more ::grin::), **mereschino **(glad to convert you to D/G!), **mE **(whoosh, thanks!), **Amy **(LOL, sorry 'bout the cliffie . . .), **Strega Brava **(go Fiery!Ginny!) **Archer **(glad to make you laugh, and yes, Ginny is very lucky), **Demeter** (of course I'm a feminist! Thank you for noticing, hee hee), **Eiez** (thanks for reading since the beginning!), **Shadow Kitten** (LOL, three threats from one chapter. Though evil alien cows are most amusing . . .) **Luinthoron **(thanks! Glad _someone_ appreciates my cliffies . . . ::grumbles::), **Star Angel** (they convicted Ginny because she _admitted_ to using an Unforgivable Curse :) Also, what part about my friend being drunk? I'm afraid that part of your review rather confused me ::makes mental note to go back and re-read chapter 14 and find any part about drunk friend::), **Ta Dot** (hee hee, I think you're right, I'm afraid to ask you what you were thinking when he was reaching for his wand. Heh, I guess his clothing was . . . disgusting? I'm not sure!), **Dramafreak192844 **(thank you very much, Alex! Hope to talk to you later), **kit-kat** (yes another cliffie! Bwa ha ha . . .), **SwedishGirl** (I'm glad you took the chance and enjoyed it!), **Sea Chelle** (yes, D/G fics are very, very awesome! Thanks!), **Arlyna Lyndomier **(thanks, it brings me great joy that you liked it! Okay, that was corny, but I'm honestly running out of things to say besides "thank you" . . . ;^D), **Xaviera **(of course I wouldn't do that! They hafta live happily ever after! LOL, thanks, I appreciate the review), **Night Spirit **(thanks, glad you read it!), **THE OREO OF LOVE** (yes, everyone loves good snogs! Unfortunately there won't be any more in this story, but perhaps in the sequel . . .) **LilyAyl** (thanks! That's okay that you missed all those chapters, just so long as you read them now…;) ),  **Shinga** (wow, thanks! I'm really honored!), **Angel St. James** (so am I nice again? Huh? Am I, am I, am I? ;^D) **The Blue Faerie** (sorry about Harry! And yes, I do hate cliffhangers as well, but only when reading them . . . writing them is fun!), **Cristina** (oh, please don't die. I think I got this chapter out relatively fast, at least, according to the date you reviewed ;D), **VoiletJersey **(thanks for the email, and yes, I agree, JKR should pair them up in the books! Though I seriously doubt she will, but, oh well, one can dream, I suppose ;) ), and **Silverwitch** (thanks, I tried to get it out as quickly as I could!)

To the person who wrote in as: I DON'T HAVE A NAME AND YOU CAN MAKE ME GET A NAME AND IF YOU TRY TO MAKE ME GET A NAME I'M GOING TO LEAP AT YOU AND BITE YOU ON THE ELBOW SO THERE! Normally, I'd get annoyed at such a pointless review, but I'm sorry, it was funny. So _totally_ random . . . 

I would like to give a very, very special thanks to Christine just for being a wonderful beta, and also to her mother, Trish, who beta'd this chapter. And more special thanks to **Archer, wmlaw, Zoemma **(aka **ChildLikeTendencies**), **Strega Brava**, and **summerthyme** for reviewing from the day chapter one came out all the way to fourteen. I do believe those were the only ones, but if you did so and I didn't name you, I'm sorry and thanks to you, too.

Okay, now that all the thank yous are done, I shall give you a bit of happy news. I am doing a sequel. Yes, I had a very sudden plot bunny attack, which is why I let Voldemort live. He will be in the sequel – he will be the _cause_ of the sequel. Which is why it's called **Lord Voldemort's Game.**

I also have one more thing to say: after the end of chapter 2 I made the most stupid A/N, saying that Sirius swam back to shore, when in fact he _did_. So please ignore that, I'm too lazy to go back in change it, but I eventually may do so. 

Well, that's all, really. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, once again, and it's because of all you that this story actually got finished (I have a bad habit of not finishing stories).

So now you have something to look forward to – the sequel!

Hugs to you all!

_~MochaButterfly_


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